NEW DELHI: With the spectre of Lok Sabha elections looming large over political horizon, political leaders are appealing the young, especially the first time voters. There are as many as 15 million young voters, between 18 and 19 years of age, will cast their vote for the first time in these elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, nudged cricketers like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, among others, to influence the young voters to come out in large numbers and vote in the upcoming general elections.
The prime minister tweeted,
Dear @msdhoni, @imVkohli and @ImRo45,
You are always setting outstanding records on the cricketing field but this time, do inspire the 130 crore people of India to set a new record of high voter turnout in the upcoming elections.
When this happens, democracy will be the winner!
This is one of the many tweets that Prime Minister Modi put out using his official Twitter handle on Wednesday morning.
The prime minister also tagged in his appeal some Bollywood personalities as well as the leaders of India Inc like Ratan Tata and Anand Mahindra.
Polls to elect a new Lok Sabha will be held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19. Votes will be counted on May 23.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the past, used a similar method in ‘Swachch Bharat Abhiyan’ in 2014 when he urged celebrities to influence people to participate in the clean-up drives.