Voter’s pledge led by Tendulkar, teams’ video messages played at matches

AS FANS flock to stadiums across the country to watch the ongoing Indian Premier League, they are being greeted by video messages by the home teams, theme songs and a pledge led by Sachin Tendulkar encouraging them to vote, as a part of a campaign by the Election Commission and the BCCI.

The IPL season started on March 22 and will go on till May 26, and will coincide with the Lok Sabha elections, which were announced on March 16 and will end with the final phase of polling on June 1 with the results being declared on June 4. According to sources, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar led the efforts to promote voter awareness during IPL matches.

While the 2019 Lok Sabha elections too saw some awareness activity during the IPL, this time it has been expanded to include video messages recorded by all teams, as well as the EC’S theme song ‘Main Bharat Hoon’ and the pledge recorded by Tendulkar being played before matches and during the breaks, they said. These, however, are not broadcast for viewers at home as breaks during IPL matches are lucrative slots for advertising. All IPL and Women’s Premier League teams have recorded voter awareness videos that are being played at the stadiums as well as being shared on social media. In one such video by Royal Challengers Bengaluru players, voters are encouraged to “hit a winning shot for the country” by casting their vote.

“Election is the biggest festival in the country and IPL too is the festival of cricket. India is the country which has the highest population of youth and we feel youth is the beneficiary of democratic process. We have collaborated with the ECI to create awareness so that more and more youth participate in the election process,” IPL chairman Arun Dhumal told The Indian Express.

“Every game, we will have activities happening on the ground, be it taking oaths or creating awareness by having a standee for a photo opportunity. We have taken help from IPL teams and feel cricket is the best way to create awareness.”

Starting with the Chennai Super Kingsmumbai Indians match at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, the voter’s pledge recorded by Tendulkar is being played at every stadium. On Sunday, Tendulkar, who is also the ECI’S national icon for voter awareness, was present at the stadium and led the crowd through the pledge that starts with: “We the citizens of India, having abiding faith in democracy, hereby pledge to uphold the democratic traditions of our country…and to vote in every election fearlessly and without being influenced.”

In a post on X on Monday, Tendulkar said: “The stadium roared not just for MI vs CSK yesterday but also for our democracy! Thank you, Wankhede, for taking the voter's pledge together.”

Mumbai Cricket Association secretary Ajinkya Naik said ECI officials had visited the stadium before Sunday’s game to look for a spot where the standees could be placed.

According to sources, the recorded pledge is being played before the match begins while the ECI’S voter awareness song will be on during the innings break. Apart from that, the EC’S voter awareness messaging, in the form of standees and selfie backdrops, has been arranged at different spots at the stadiums.

Apart from ECI officials, the states' Chief Electoral Officers are also coordinating the voter awareness initiatives at the respective stadiums, sources said

Starting with the CSK-MI match at Wankhede on Sunday, the pledge is being played at every stadium.