Kerala Assembly Elections 2026: Election officials plan ‘halwa campaign’ to welcome first-time voters

Election officials in Kerala are planning a ‘halwa campaign’ for welcoming first-time voters at polling stations for the April 9 Assembly elections.

‘Specially-branded halwa’ will be distributed among the first-time voters who arrive at selected polling booths in each district as part of the ‘Vote Sweetened Kerala’ campaign which carries the tag line ‘A sweet start to your civic journey.’

Two hundred first-time voters in each district will be presented with complimentary halwa. Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala) Rathan U. Kelkar has directed the District Election Officers (District Collectors) to pick the polling stations where halwa packets will be distributed.

Turnout target

Booth-level officers and volunteers have been given the responsibility of verifying the first-time voter. The halwa initiative is part of the Election Commission of India’s (EC) efforts to improve youth voter turnout in the upcoming election. The EC has instructed election officials in Kerala to target an overall voter turnout of above 85% this time. Of the 2.71 crore voters in Kerala for the Assembly polls, 4,66,408 are in the 18-19 age group. Of this, 2,34,707 are male voters and 2,31,701 are female voters.

Voter apathy among youth

Voter apathy among the youth has been a major concern especially in urban Kerala. A recent ‘Baseline Survey of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Citizens for General Elections to Legislative Assembly, Kerala – 2026’ conducted by the CEO’s office with support from the Centre for Management Development (CMD) had recommended targeted voter education campaigns, incorporation of electoral information into school, college and university curricula and special enrolment drives in universities and colleges before elections.