With the State Election Commission taking various measures to increase voter turnout in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections on December 4, the motivation to "come out and vote" will get glamorous. As brand ambassadors for the EC, cricketers and Bollywood stars will urge people to go out and vote.
While a formal announcement will be made later this week, actor Soha Ali Khan and cricketer Virat Kohli will be seen and heard in the Election Commission's campaigns on radio and television against "urban apathy" towards elections.
Election officials said the celebrities were chosen based on their mass appeal and neutral political affiliation. "The reason behind getting famous celebrities is to get people out of their couches and into the polling booths on December 4. And since this activity is purely on pro bono basis in larger public interest, it is important for the celebrity activist to commit to the cause in writing," a senior official said.
Traditionally, Delhi has seen a voter turnout of 50-55 per cent. The Election Commission is putting in extra effort to target youth and women voters for the upcoming elections. Collating figures of the last four Assembly elections in Delhi, 58.27 per cent women voters had cast votes in 1993. In 1998, it went down to 41.41 per cent, and saw a slight increase to 51.53 per cent in 2003. It was 56.62 per cent in 2008.
On Monday, Chief Election Officer Vijay Dev visited Bharati College, an all-women's college in Janakpuri, as part of a special drive to motivate women to vote. While all educational institutions are required to submit a certificate to the Delhi Election Commission, declaring 100 per cent enrolment of all staff and students in the electoral roll, the Election Commission has also decided to give special certificates in return to all students who actually go and vote.
"Once the polling is done on December 4, we have decided to issue special certificates to all young voters studying in these institutions who have actually voted by showing their indelible ink mark. While the details have not been decided yet, it will be a certificate marking the person who has voted as a responsible, aware and dedicated youth," Dev said.
© indianexpress
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