As the lok Sabha poll in Delhi and NCR is just 11 days away, all eyes are on the Brand Ambassador for the Election Commission of India, Virat Kohli, who didn’t exercise his franchise in the last Delhi Assembly election — whether he will cast his vote this time.
In the Delhi Assembly Election on December 4, Kohli was unable to cast his vote due to his pre-scheduled engagement in a cricket tournament in South Africa. During the Assembly election too, the Election Commission had projected Kohli as the face of its campaign to encourage voters to reach polling booths and exercise their franchise.
However, this time Kohli has got a window of around 10 days between the T20 World Cup ending on April 6 and Indian Premier league (IPl) Season 7 starting on April 16. As his other engagements like shooting for endorsement, etc, are known to the public, there is a contradiction in speculation about his presence in Delhi on the polling date, April 10. Some sources said that Kohli may miss the opportunity this time also. An official statement on behalf of Kohli said that his schedule for April 10 is yet to be fixed and if he is available in Delhi on the polling day, he would definitely cast his vote.
Nevertheless, the EC seems to be unperturbed whether its brand ambassadors cast their votes or not as long as they are able to influence masses to exercise their franchise. A senior officer of the Delhi election office said actress Soha Ali Khan has also confirmed to become a Brand Ambassador for the forthcoming polls.
The EC has also planned to rope in a prominent mediaperson for the cause. “The new ambassador will most likely to be a noted mediaperson with some glamour quotient as well as an intellectual appeal,” said Ankur Garg, nodal officer of Delhi Election Commission.
The Election Commission is also trying to rope in Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, along with celebrities, like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, boxer MC Mary Kom, badminton star Saina Nehwal, and former President APJ Abdul Kalam. They have, however, not confirmed their association with the campaign.