New Delhi, Jan 27 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged first time voters to register and cast their ballots in the coming Lok Sabha polls.

Delivering his first "Mann Ki Baat" address of 2019, Modi said: "This year, the Lok Sabha elections will be held in our country and this will be the first time that youth born after 2000 will vote.

"An opportunity has come for them to take the responsibility of the nation on their shoulders. They are now going to become a partner in the decision-making process of the country. I urge the youth to register themselves as voters."

Modi also hailed the Election Commission (EC) for holding elections across the length and breadth of the country and said that the people of the country were proud of it.

"The EC was formed on January 25, 1950 and the day is celebrated annually as National Voters Day. Seeing the scale on which the elections are held in India, it is natural for people across the world to be surprised. "

He said the EC was an institution that every citizen must be proud of.

"In our country, no stone is left unturned to ensure that every citizen of India, who is a registered voter, gets an opportunity to vote."

He said when we hear that a polling station is set up 15,000 feet above sea level in Himachal Pradesh, voting arrangements are made in far-flung islands of Andaman and Nicobar, or even in a remote forest area of Gujarat, where there is only one voter, "it is very natural to be proud of the Commission".

"I commend the EC for contiinuous efforts to strengthen our democracy. I also commend the election in all the states, all security personnel. other employees, who participate in the voting process and ensure free and fair elections," he added.