Ghaziabad: Ahead of the general elections due this year, Noida has added 1.44 lakh first-time voters on its electoral rolls. These voters, who are in the age group of 18 to19 years, and will be voting for the first time, will play a crucial role in the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections because of their sheer strength.The voters were added during an enrolment drive conducted by the district administration between September and November last year. A total of 1.53 lakh applications were received from those who attained 18 years of age in 2018, which is the minimum age to cast votes, out of which 4,116 forms were rejected due to various errors. Another 4,593 forms were rejected for not having been processed properly.In Ghaziabad, an enrolment drive was also conducted in the same period last year. The administration has received 44,219 applications from first-time voters. These applications are being processed before the final voters’ list is published on January 31. The maximum number of 13,445 first-time voters’ applications have come in from Muradnagar assembly segment of Ghaziabad Lok Sabha seat. This constituency includes upscale areas of Kavi Nagar and Raj Nagar among other areas. From Sahibabad assembly segment, which includes Indirapuram, Kaushambi, Vasundhara and Vaishali, the administration has received 8,353 applications from first-time voters.“We have received nearly 1.95 lakh applications for enrolment in electoral rolls including first-time voters. We expect Ghaziabad will add nearly 1.4 to 1.5 lakh new voters when the electoral rolls are finally published on January 31,” said district magistrate Ritu Maheshwari In Gautam Budh Nagar, the huge increase in the number of first-time voters has been attributed by the district administration to shifting of new residents to high-rise apartments in various parts of Noida and Greater Noida. Additional district magistrate, Keshav Kumar, who is the deputy district election officer, said awareness drives for enrolment in voters’ lists were conducted especially in Noida Extension. “A large number of people have recently shifted to these high-rise apartments. We have registered around 50,000 voters from Noida Extension alone,” he said.Electoral photo identity cards for these voters are likely to be issued in February. In January last year, the district administration had also conducted a similar drive during which 56,000 voters were registered. The administration also focused on registration of students and migrant workers in urban and rural areas.

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