Guwahati, March 24: The voter awareness drive in Assam has gathered momentum ahead of the Assembly elections, with authorities deploying a mix of social media influencers, para-athletes and grassroots initiatives to encourage greater public participation in the democratic process.
The campaign is being carried out under the Election Commission’s Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme, with a focus on informing citizens about their voting rights and responsibilities. Officials said a wide range of activities has been introduced across districts to engage diverse sections of society and make the outreach more inclusive.
Programmes such as street plays, rangoli and drawing competitions, slogan-writing contests, digital poster campaigns and wall-writing drives are being organised at the local level. Workshops and news presentation contests have also been included to expand engagement, particularly among young voters.
District administrations have adopted customised approaches to strengthen connect with communities. Mascots like ‘Bakhar’ in Lakhimpur, ‘Ganabandhu’ in Sonitpur, ‘Jolou’ in Jorhat, ‘Chameli’ in Golaghat, and ‘Dwimlu’ and ‘Sikhiri’ in Kokrajhar are being used to improve recall and relatability of the campaign.
To further widen its reach, the initiative has brought in public figures as campaign faces. Content creator Abhinav Borah, popularly known as ‘LazyGuy’, has been roped in by Jorhat district to connect with younger audiences, while actor Rajiv Duwari is leading outreach efforts in Lakhimpur. Para-cyclist Rakesh Banik is also spearheading awareness campaigns across multiple districts.
Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Goel expressed confidence that the expanded outreach would help improve voter turnout and urged citizens to actively participate in the elections.
Polling for the 126-member Assam Legislative Assembly is scheduled for April 9, with counting of votes set for May 4.
