Delhi EC ropes in comedian Kapil Sharma to boost polling

Aiming to boost voting percentage in the April 10 Lok Sabha polls here, the Delhi Election Commission today roped in stand-up comedian Kapil Sharma and Bollywood singer KK to influence voters, especially youth, to exercise their franchise.
Exhorting voters to come out of their homes and exercise their right on the polling day, Sharma said, "We need to celebrate elections as a national festival and should not treat the polling day as just another government holiday.
"It is not a day to just eat pakodas, but to exercise franchise for a better government. Otherwise this pakoda will give you stomach ache for the next five years," Sharma said in his trademark style.

"The awareness regarding voting has increased in the recent years, which is a good sign for democracy. I think everyone should take their individual responsibility for a better future," he added.
As a part of the awareness campaign, Delhi Election commission organised a cultural programme "Celebrate democracy with smile" at Talkatora Stadium, where Sharma and KK performed.
Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Dev said, "The commission has been incessantly working toward increasing voting percentage in elections. We saw a considerable increase in voting percentage in recently concluded Assembly polls. We hope today's programme will encourage voters to come out and vote."

Dev said the commission has made adequate arrangements to ensure peaceful polling on April 10.