This election, Delhi is set to 'Rock On'

The stars of Bollywood blockbuster Rock On could shine on the campuses of seven universities in the capital, as the Election Commission is planning to rope in the lead actors of the movie to motivate students in the capital to vote.

According to the Delhi election commission, there are 7,25,600 voters in the age group of 18-21 years in city colleges affiliated to various universities and they have either never voted for any party or do not know how to register themselves as voters.

“We feel that the youth in this age group are highly under-represented and we are making efforts to convince them to come out in large numbers and vote for the candidates of their choice,” said Satbir Silas Bedi, chief electoral officer.

Bedi said that during the Delhi assembly elections, the authorities had prepared a campaign around the song Pappu can’t dance from the movie, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na.

“We have met officials of all seven universities in Delhi and have
asked them to spread the word and try and make the students come out and vote. We are also trying to get in touch with the actors of Rock On and if things work out well, we would like them to come to Delhi and motivate young voters to make a difference
this election,” said Bedi.

The data of the central election commission states a similar tale, as there are 4.3 crore new voters in the general elections this year. India now has 71.4 crore voters as against 67.1 crore in 2004. Of them, 24% (17 crore) is in the age group of 18 and 35.