Mandsaur (Madhya Pradesh): In an unprecedented move, Mandsaur has made history by implementing the innovative "Pink Counting" initiative during the Lok Sabha elections. This groundbreaking approach saw women officers and employees taking charge of the entire vote-counting process at the district headquarters of the Mandsaur parliamentary constituency.
On Tuesday, more than 400 women officers and employees from across the district undertook the crucial task of counting votes, managing table details, and overseeing arrangements. This initiative was supported and inspired by district election officer and collector Dilip Kumar Yadav.
The concept of pink counting was first introduced during the assembly elections in Mandsaur, where it proved to be a successful experiment. Encouraged by this success, the district administration extended the initiative to the Lok Sabha elections, making Mandsaur the only constituency among the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies in India to adopt such a measure.
The counting took place at PG College, involving over 1500 employees, officers, and security personnel. However, the actual counting was exclusively conducted by the women's team. The women officers and employees, dressed in pink, handled the responsibilities with efficiency and coordination, supported by the Collector and CEO of the District Panchayat, who were present to motivate and assist.
Collector Yadav highlighted that the successful assembly elections' pink counting experience significantly contributed to the Lok Sabha election's success. He praised the women for their enthusiasm, confidence, and meticulous execution of tasks, including phase-wise counting, table management, and EVM machine operations.
The collective effort of senior officers and employees, including SWEEP Plan Nodal Officer Kumar Satyam, Deputy Election Officer Ravindra Parmar, Additional Collector Ekta Jaiswal, and Tehsildar Shivani Garg, SDM Shivlal Shakya, Master Trainer Dr. JK Jain, Superintendent of Police Anurag Sujania, Tehsildar Ramesh Majhare, and Women and Child Development Officer PC Chauhan, was instrumental in the initiative's success.
In total, more than 14.28 lakh votes were cast and counted in 18 to 20 rounds, with approximately 8 lakh votes being counted through the pink counting initiative.
The innovative step was lauded by several dignitaries, including deputy chief minister Jagdish Devda, MP Sudhir Gupta, Rajya Sabha MP Banshilal Gurjar, Congress candidate and former MLA Dilip Singh Gurjar, Mandsaur MLA and district Congress president Vipin Jain, BJP district president Nanalal Atolia, municipal council president Ramadevi Gurjar, vice president Namrata Chawla, and district panchayat president Durga Vijay Patidar.
They commended the trust placed in women and their successful execution of this significant electoral task, extending congratulations to both the women and the District Election Officer for this remarkable achievement.