Five major states – Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram, Telangana and Chhattisgarh – are set for the crucial Assembly Elections in November this year. The Election Commission of India, which is responsible for all the poll activities across the country, has taken steps to modernise the entire process and make it more voter-friendly. In a bid to appeal to the younger voters and digitise the data, the Election Commission had launched the Voter Helpline App back in 2019.
It is a one-stop destination for every voter in India and helps with all election-related queries and activities. At the same time, the Voter Helpline Number has proven to be an efficient means of providing information to voters.
There was a time when people had to run around election offices to get themselves registered or for the latest updates ahead of the elections. Not any more. ECI’s all-rounder online application -the Voter Helpline App – can be downloaded free of charge from the ‘Play Store’ or ‘App Store’. VHA was launched in 2019, and currently, 1.9 crore Indians are actively using this application, latest data suggests.
The Voter Helpline App is structured to provide information about electoral lists, forms for voter registration and modification, download digital photo voter slips, make complaints, find details about the contesting candidates, and most importantly, see the real-time results of the elections. All of this could be done by just linking up their mobile phone with that of an EPIC card.
Another means to provide information is via the toll-free voter helpline number, 1950. The helpline number was launched at the same time as the app. The helpline number helps in gaining any information through a toll-free service by just dialing ‘1950’ in your ‘Phone’ app. It is advised to keep your reference number or registered number handy to work faster. The helpline number is available in different official languages for your convenience.
You can even get any election information through the SMS service. Applicants must have their reference ID number on hand, which is acquired during registration, in order to check the status of a voter ID card through SMS. You must send an SMS to the above numbers along with the relevant state-specific format, depending on which state you call home.