Sachin Tendulkar to bat for greater voter turnout as 'National Icon' for EC

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) would be signed with Sachin Tendulkar for a period of three years tomorrow, ECI said in a statement

Cricket legend and Bharat Ratna awardee Sachin Tendulkar would begin a new innings - as the 'National Icon' for voter awareness and education for the Election Commission of India (ECI).

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) would be signed with Sachin Tendulkar for three years at an event to be organised on August 23 at Rang Bhavan, Akashvani, New Delhi in the presence of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel, said the ECI in a statement.

The collaboration would mark a significant step towards leveraging Tendulkar's impact with the youth demographic for increasing voters' participation in the upcoming elections, especially in general elections 2024, it said.

ECI, through this partnership, aims to bridge the gap between citizens, especially youth and urban populations and the electoral process, thereby, trying to address the challenges of urban and youth apathy, it added.

Last year, the EC recognised famous actor Pankaj Tripathi as the 'National Icon'. Earlier, during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, stalwarts like MS Dhoni, Aamir Khan and Mary Kom had been the ECI National Icons.