The Delhi election commission has spun off Dangal’s song to come up with ‘Voter Dhakad Hai’ line to inspire 1.32 crore people to come out and vote in the municipal elections.
The advertisement campaign has been inspired by the song in Aamir Khan's Dangal, a box-office hit on real-life wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat and his struggle to turn his daughters into world-class wrestlers. Officials in Delhi Election Commission told Outlook that a private ad agency had been hired -- first time for Delhi municipal elections -- to design a campaign to inspire voters.
The spin-off advertisement is being aired in FM channels and quarter-page ads are splashed across newspapers urging voters to shun apathy and come out to vote in an election that matters to them the most. In the last 2012 elections, the voter turnout was 55 per cent. The election commission is aiming at 65-plus voting percentage in municipal elections scheduled for April 23.
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State elections commission has also roped in famous personalities from the Capital to bring out the voters. They include cricketers Kapil Dev and Gautam Gambhir, film actors Tapsee Pannu and Huma Qureshi, and author Chetan Bhagpat.
"They will all appear in the ads. They will not only ask the Delhiites to vote, they will also talk about the importance of municipal authorities and people must be proactive in chosing their councilors,” said an official.
"There is not much voter interest in municipal elections but people are most effected by them. Whether the colonies are clean or not, whether garbage is being collected or not and whether potholes are being filled or not -- these effect the people most and it's the councilors who are responsible," a state election commission officer said.
