Be 'Dabangg' in these MCD elections

To ensure that people come out in large numbers and cast their votes for MCD polls, the Delhi State Election Commission is making all out efforts to draw them to polling booths.

From street plays to print advertisements and radio jingles to hoardings, the Commission is taking help of all mediums to make Delhiites realise the importance of municipal polls and local councillors in resolving problems related to civic issues.

The Commission is hopeful of taking up the voters’ turnout from dismal 42.7 percent in the last MCD polls to about 65 per cent this year through the comprehensive awareness drive, including an advertisement based on Salman Khar starrer ‘Dabangg’. The advertisement placed in public places such at Delhi Metro stations focuses on civic issues and their solution which lies in voting. It says, ‘Street lights in my area gets repaired before I register complain, I am Delhi's dabangg. It’s your vote, your power that works. Vote daalo bano dabangg’.

Some advertisements carry photograph of a young man sporting a moustache similar to Salman’s in Dabangg while others have a young girl voicing the same slogan.

The State Election Commissioner Rakesh Mehta says, “We are doing nukkad nataks, TV spots, ads on FM channels, informing voters through pamphlets apart from print and TV advertisements.”

The Commission along with an NGO working to create an awareness on voting, has identified 136 wards where street plays are being performed. These are wards where voting percentage has been very low. The play has been scripted and directed by Neeraj Gupta, president, Vote for India campaign. “We are performing the s ame play Vote Mera Dilli Ke Naam twice in each ward. So far, it has been performed in around 60 wards,” informs Gupta.

It is not first time that awareness campaigns, and advertisements based on films are asking people to use their right to vote have been launched.

The campaign launched before the last Lok Sabha elections, Pappu Vote Nahi Daalta became very popular and effective too. The State Election Commission has roped in similar techniques for MCD polls as people tend to undermine the relevance of municipal elections.

The play includes elements that aim to make voters understand the relevance of local municipal councillor in routine life. “The voting in MCD elections has been 35 to 40 percent. People don’t take MCD elections as seriously as Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. They think that only MP is their representative. So we have scripted the play accordingly to eliminate those notions,” Neeraj says. The play is being performed by volunteers, professional artists and members of an NGO Mass For Awareness.

Apart from youth, special focus of this campaign is on women. “This time, there are 50 per cent women candidates. So the focus is as much on women as youth,” the Commissioner says. For this, a group of college students are on a door-to-door campaign in some colonies and informing women voters by singing and playing music.

The Commission is sure that this campaign will helping in creating awareness amongst the masses with regard to the importance of exercising their franchise to bring in the right candidates. That these campaigns are definitely grabbing attention is clear but whether they will actually make people go out and vote on the polling day which also happens to be a Sunday, remains to be seen.