Celebrities influencing voters during elections is nothing new in Tamil Nadu over the last half-a-century. Sports, politics and movies have been consolidated with each other for a long period of time in India, and Tamil Nadu is no exception. Cricketers Ravichandran Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik have joined hands with the Election Commission of India and Chief Electoral Officer for Tamil Nadu assembly elections, Rajesh Lakhoni for campaigning purposes.
The elections in TN are slated for May 16 and Election Commission roped in celebrities in the form of Ashwin, Dinesh Karthik, actor Suriya and others to promote free and fair elections.
Rajesh Lakhoni said, “Movie stars and sports personalities have huge reach in Tamil Nadu. We decided to attract young voters on social media, by using memes and tweets themed around films and create awareness about casting one’s votes. The idea is first register as a voter and then come and vote."
"Towards the final stages of the election campaign, we will ask the voters through celebrity videos – Don’t sell your votes. The awareness videos are on social media platforms and on FM channels. We had an issue regarding television as most of them are owned by political parties. The short videos of actor Surya’s dubsmash and cricketer Ashwin, have already gone viral ”, added Lakhoni.
Ashwin, who has been in limelight for the candid replies on Twitter, opens his short video by telling the fans not to argue as to who is the better captain between Dhoni and Kohli. He appeals the fans not to worry about such an issue, as the selectors would be doing their job. In lieu, he asks them to worry if their names are not a part of the Electoral List for the forthcoming elections.
Wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik and his wife, squash player Dipika Pallikal also sent out a message requesting people to go out and vote.
South superstar Suriya chose to do a dubsmash where he lip-synced legend Rajnikanth’s dialogue from the movie Muthu. He endorsed the young voters to exercise their right to vote and raise their voices for correct reasons.
Ex-cricketer and selector Krishnamachari Srikanth were among others who agreed to do a 30-second video for the elections.
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