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Mohali admn banks on inaugural IPL match at Mullanpur stadium to bowl over voters
Mohali administration has also roped in Bollywood actor and Punjab Kings co-owner Preity Zinta and India cricketer Shikhar Dhawan for video messages, appealing to the voters for exercising their franchise
While the state government is gearing up for the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on March 23, the district administration is encashing on the opportunity to launch an election campaign at the venue.
Punjab Kings will take on Delhi Capitals in the second match of IPL 2024 on March 23.
The administration has also roped in Bollywood actor and Punjab Kings co-owner Preity Zinta and India cricketer Shikhar Dhawan for video messages, appealing to the voters for exercising their franchise.
Deputy commissioner Aashika Jain, who also serves as the district election officer, said that the recorded messages would be played during and before the match as well.
The administration will also sponsor match tickets for 500 government college students, mainly first time voters from the district. These students will wear t-shirts, caps and wrist bands with election-related slogans and messages, including “My first vote for my country and I vote for sure”.
Additionally, key chains with these slogans would be distributed to the people while waiting in queues to enter the stadium. “A folk group from Patiala would be invited to sing the election commission’s theme song, ‘Mai Bharat Hun’. A special quiz to be organised before the match would include questions related to poll process and guidelines. The winners would get surprise gifts,” said a senior administrative officer.
The district election team is also planning to run an informative programme regarding elections on prominent radio stations an hour before and after the match. Selfie points would be installed outside the stadium with messages regarding elections.
An officer, requesting anonymity, said, “We are planning to walk in the students along with Punjab Kings team. But it will require permission from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Moreover, three buses that would pick and drop students are to be adorned with election related messages.”
The DC said that election-related messages would be displayed on the screens inside the stadium after getting permissions from the authorities concerned. “We may even use the poles of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority to display motivational messages,” Jain added.
