Shimla, May 8: Himachal Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Maneesh Garg on Wednesday released cycling t-shirts with a message to cast votes in a bid to promote voter awareness in the state.

State election icon Jaspreet Paul, who is an avid cyclist and a professional photographer from Mandi, has been assigned the task of spreading voter awareness and encouraging the people to cast their franchise. Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Phase 3 Polling: EC Provisional Figures Peg Third Phase Turnout at 64.4% As Polling Ends in 20 States and UTs.

The state election icon is assigned to spread awareness to the youth through his cycling expeditions and rallies with his team in different parts of the state including the world's highest polling booth at Tashigang village (15,256 feet) in district Lahaul and Spiti.  It is pertinent to mention here that the Election office declared him as the State election icon on April 8, 2024, to encourage youth to exercise their right to franchise and make voters aware of the value of their votes in Maha Utsav of Democracy. Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Phase 5: 695 Candidates Set To Contest Across 49 Constituencies Spread Over Eight States and UTs, Says EC.

Additional CEOs, Dalip Negi, Neelam Dulta and OSD SVEEP Neeraj Sharma were also present on the occasion. The filing of nominations began on May 7, and the last date for filing papers is May 14 in Himachal Pradesh. The elections to the four Lok Sabha seats of Himachal Pradesh and by-polls to the six assembly constituencies that fell vacant with the disqualification of six rebel Congress MLAs will be held on June 1.