Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey launched a yearlong Voter Awareness Program – ‘Matdata Junction’ during an event organised at Akashvani Rang Bhavan, New Delhi. The ‘Matdata Junction’ is a 52 episode radio series produced by the Election Commission of India (ECI), in collaboration with All India Radio (AIR).
Addressing the gathering, Rajiv Kumar said that the program Matdata Junction will be a strong platform to connect with the voters across the country. The program as a combination of information and entertainment, would specifically help address urban apathy and inform the audience about the election processes in the conduct of free, fair, transparent, inducement free, accessible and inclusive elections in an interactive communication format.
Rajiv Kumar announced actor Pankaj Tripathi, would henceforth be the National Icon for ECI, keeping in view his commitment to the cause and wide appeal across the country. While appreciating the efforts made by ECI for reaching out to the voters, Tripathi urged all young voters to pro-actively participate in the elections to reflect their democratic choices and make their voices heard.
The 15 minutes program will be broadcast every Friday during 7- 9 PM slot on All India Radio network covering 25 FM stations, 4 FM Gold stations, 42 Vividh Bharati stations, and 159 primary channels/local radio stations in 23 languages, i.e., Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili, and Dogri.
The 52 episode series will cover various aspects of election and related processes from voters’ perspective. It will have thematic episodes on voter registration, Informed & Ethical Voting, Value of Vote, Inclusive & Accessible Elections, Model Code of Conduct, IT Applications, EVMs, stories of election officials, BLOs, etc. All episodes include interactive messaging aimed at encouraging eligible citizens and especially the young and first time voters to vote and make an informed decision during the elections.
The series will be in the genre of infotainment program having a kaleidoscope of drama, storytelling, Quiz, Experts’ interview, and Songs produced by the SVEEP (Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation) division of the ECI India in every episode. The first episode of the program on the theme – ‘Voter Registration’ will be broadcast on October, 7 Friday at 7:25 PM. Citizens can also listen to the Program on ‘Twitter on @airnewsalerts and @ECISVEEP, News On AIR’ App and YouTube channels of ECI & All India Radio. Tune in and be a part of India’s vibrant democracy.
