New Delhi: With the assembly elections round the corner in Karnataka, the State Election Commission (SEC) has come up with a series of campaigns to prevent voters from falling for inducements from parties and politicians.
From noted film actors to the popular comedy character ‘Mr Bean’, it has used several personalities in its campaigns to drive home its point.
One of these campaigns centres on an animated frog.
In a video released by the commission Monday, “Mr Frog” is seen crawling towards food and drinks, before gulping them down. The character then moves on to cash and a television, among other offerings, and swallows them all as well. However, while walking away with his goodies, he falls into a pit as the road he is walking on caves in.
“Don’t fall for false attractions. Be smart and vote wisely,” reads a text at the end of the video.
Mr Frog, could not think wisely, but you can!
Temporary attractions can ruin a great future. Let’s walk towards development with truth and ethicality.@ECISVEEP @SpokespersonECI #karnatakaassemblyelection2023 #alltopoll #Elections2023 #vote #development #Democracy pic.twitter.com/TL5I0LfKrZ
— Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka (@ceo_karnataka) March 27, 2023
Talking to ThePrint, Surya Sen, Karnataka’s Joint Chief Electoral Officer, said the thought behind such social media posts is to simply engage with people.
“The thought is very simple, everybody is personally attached to social media. We have to replicate what we like to see even in government establishments. Sometimes information about government schemes is very boring. We need to understand how to engage.”
About the ‘Mr Frog’ video, Sen said, “It’s a team effort. We do a lot of brainstorming. We have different groups with diverse people. A lot of them are young people who have just passed out of college.”
Sen said young people “know the vibe and they are good at creating memes”.
“We are only putting perspective into their minds. So they will keep the vibe, they will keep the engagement and at the same time they will deliver what we want,” he added.
The Karnataka SEC has tried to bring more people on board for their social media engagements. They are collaborating with a diverse set of companies including art and adventure forums, Sen added.
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Bachchan, Rajinikanth & more
In one of the election awareness posters, noted filmstars Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth and Mammootty, among others, are seen sporting the black ink on their finger, indicating that they cast their vote.
Here is a pro tip:
Your vote can save your state, then your society will claim you as a "self-made" superstar!@ECISVEEP @SpokespersonECI #karnatakassemblyelections2023 #vote #election #karnataka #Elections2023 #india #democracy #righttovote #ecisveep #ceokarnataka pic.twitter.com/nLdc5TAqlT
— Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka (@ceo_karnataka) March 25, 2023
The tip given with this poster is — “Your vote can save your state, then your society will claim you as a self-made superstar!”
Another poster features British comedian Rowan Atkinson, famous for his character Mr Bean, superimposed on Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting Mona Lisa.
Have you registered your names in the voter’s list?
Register and check your names in 👉 Voters Helpline Application. DOWNLOAD NOW!@ECISVEEP @SpokespersonECI #karnatakassemblyelections2023 #vote #election #karnataka #Elections2023 #righttovote #ecisveep #ceokarnataka #LetsVote pic.twitter.com/ZyTTS6V5aj
— Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka (@ceo_karnataka) March 24, 2023
The Election Commission is expected to announce the elections for the state soon as the tenure of the Karnataka legislative assembly ends on 24 May.
(Edited by Geethalakshmi Ramanathan)
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