MUMBAI:  In its bid to reach out to a large number of voters to exercise their valuable franchise, a ‘Voter Education Channel’ was launched by the election commission of India (ECI). The channel which can be viewed on YouTube, has video clips of many Indian icons urging citizens to cast their important vote.

The first clip features a recorded speech by the chief election commissioner VS Sampath asking voters to ‘turn up at polling stations and exercise their right to vote in an informed and ethical manner’. This speech, uploaded yesterday has so far recorded 2028 hits. The other video links have sportspersons like boxer MC Mary Kom, cricketer MS Dhoni and badminton sensation Saina Nehwal, who are seen urging voters to exercise their vote. Channel viewers can also watch videos of ECI brand ambassadors like Aaamir Khan and former president of India Mr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam asking voters to do the same.

The newly launched YouTube link also has a number of other messages recorded by various state election offices asking and motivating voters to cast their vote during this elections. The channel also provides details about the procedures deployed to use the electronic voting machines (EVMs) and their functioning while others mention about the none of the above (NOTA) option procedure. The link to this YouTube channel can also be found on the official website, www.eci.nic.in- under the section 'Voter Education Channel'. A senior official from the ECI has said that many such video links will be posted soon on the YouTube channel.