Chandigarh, March 22 (IANS): Aiming to achieve a minimum of 75 per cent voter turnout in Haryana, an increase of five per cent higher than the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, state's Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Agarwal on Friday said the department is making efforts to ensure the maximum participation of people in the polls scheduled to be held on May 25.

Every eligible voter must exercise their voting rights, he said.

In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, approximately 70 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the state, which was higher than the national average.

"This time, our target is to achieve a minimum of 75 per cent voter turnout," he said.

Agarwal said to increase voter turnout, the Election Commission has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Postal Department and the Indian Banks Association to raise awareness among voters.

The main objective is to convey to voters that participation of the public is crucial in democracy.

He said the state has a network of over 5,600 branches of 62 banks.

With the cooperation of banks, maximum awareness will be ensured at ATMs and branches to motivate citizens coming to banks to vote.

The Chief Electoral Officer said this time, there are 1,98,29,675 voters in Haryana.

There are 19,812 polling centres in the state.