Sachin Tendulkar declared the ‘National Icon’ of the Election Commission to boost voter turnout

Fondly called the ‘Master Blaster’, Bharat Ratna awardee and cricket-legend Sachin Tendulkar will be designated as the “national icon” of the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday, to encourage greater voter participation in the upcoming electoral process.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed between Tendulkar who’s also a nominated member of Rajya Sabha and the poll panel represented by the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and election commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel in New Delhi on Wednesday. Going by the terms of the MoU, the cricketer will push EC’s endeavour to raise voter awareness and educate the electorates about the value and significance of each vote in nurturing a vibrant democracy. As part of the three-year long agreement, Tendulkar is expected to primarily work in spreading voter knowledge & awareness.

“This collaboration would mark a significant step towards leveraging Tendulkar’s unparalleled impact with the youth for increasing voters’ participation in the forthcoming elections, especially in general elections (to Lok Sabha), 2024,” the ECI said in a statement. Through this particular partnership, the ECI seeks to counter the challenges of urban and youth apathy and hesitation towards voting. The commission has been associating itself with renowned Indians from various fields by designating them as its “national icons” to motivate voters, especially the youth to participate in the electoral process.

Last year, the commission recognised the popular actor Pankaj Tripathi as its national icon. Earlier, during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, stalwarts such as the likes of former Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan and Olympic medalist Mary Kom had been designated the ECI’s national icons.

Tendulkar’s Rajya Sabha credentials so far for ECI

While Sachin has several records to his name on and off the cricket field, but his performance as a nominated MP in the Rajya Sabha from 2012 to 2018 was questioned by many political analysts.

He clocked poor attendance, having turned up for just 8% of the days during his term from 2012 to 2018. He did not even participate in any parliamentary debates and asked only 22 questions throughout his entire six-year term. However, he did spend his MPLADS fund well, on causes ranging from flood relief in J&K and Tamil Nadu to rebuilding schools in Uttarakhand and Maharashtra to construction of public toilets in Mumbai. He had also adopted a village in Andhra Pradesh under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.

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