State-Level Voter Awareness Campaign Launches: ‘Celebration of Elections, Pride of Maharashtra’ The Maharashtra voting song ‘Ye Pudhe Matdaan Kar’ releases

Mumbai : In preparation for the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Elections, a special campaign titled ‘Celebration of Elections, Pride of Maharashtra’ was launched under the SVEEP (Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation) program to promote voter education and participation. The campaign was inaugurated at the Gateway of India, where a new voting anthem, “Yeh Pudhe, Matdaan Kar” (Come Forward and Vote), was released. This initiative aims to promote voter awareness across all assembly constituencies in Maharashtra, covering every district, including Mumbai.

Dignitaries and Prominent Figures Present at the Event. The event was attended by Hirdesh Kumar, Deputy Election Commissioner of India; Sanjay Kumar, Deputy Election Commissioner; Pankaj Srivastava, Director; Avinash Kumar, Principal Secretary; Suman Kumar, Secretary; and Anil Kumar, Under Secretary.

Key officials such as S. Chockalingam, Chief Electoral Officer; Bhushan Gagrani, Mumbai Election Officer and BrihanMumbai Municipal Commissioner; and Vivek Phansalkar, Mumbai Police Commissioner, were also present.

In addition, several prominent figures and goodwill ambassadors, including social activist Shri Gauri Sawant and Divyang (disability rights advocate) Nilesh Singit, attended the event alongside celebrities such as cricketer Ajinkya Rahane, actress Varsha Usgaonkar, singer Milind Ingle, director Rohit Shetty, actress Ananya Panday, comedian Bharti Singh, Harsh Limbachiyaa, singer Rahul Saxena, Rapper Subodh Jadhav, actor Manoj Joshi, actor Bajaj Anand, actress Sonali Khare, actor Ali Asgar and others.

During this event several celebrities urged citizens to make voting a priority. Actress Varsha Usgaonkar emphasised the importance of each vote, encouraging disabled and senior citizens to take advantage of special facilities to exercise their rights.

Actress Sonali Khare highlighted that voting is a solution for addressing grievances. She said, “I, too, will vote on November 20th. You should also vote.”

Director Rohit Shetty said, “Make sure to vote on November 20th. It is everyone’s right, and we must exercise it.” Comedian Bharti Singh said, “We celebrate every festival and occasion without being told. Voting is also a celebration of democracy. You too should vote on November 20th; I will also vote.”

Actor Bajaj Anand said, “Often, we don’t consider time when it comes to entertainment. Voting is a sacred act, and we must make time for it.” Actress Ananya Pandey and actor Manoj Joshi said that don’t treat Election Day as a holiday. “You must definitely vote on that day.”

Ajinkya Rahane committed to postponing his scheduled commitments to vote on November 20.

The primary goal of this special campaign is to raise voter awareness about the importance of electoral participation and to promote active voter engagement. To support this, the program will deliver messages of voter awareness through a variety of artistic performances.

During the event, the Mumbai Police band performed, and a commemorative postal stamp related to elections was unveiled. A voter pledge was taken, and a special voter awareness light display was set up on boats in the sea.

Following the event, a voter awareness rally was held from the Gateway of India to residential areas in Colaba to further engage citizens on the importance of their electoral participation.