By Sfoorti Mishra
New Delhi,To spread awareness about the February 8 Delhi Assembly polls, the Election Commission, here on Sunday, organised a musical event “Dil Se… Roobaroo with AR Rahman”.
Addressing the 500-strong gathering at the Central Park of Connaught Place, Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh shared the initiatives taken by the poll panel to ensure a good voter turnout.
The people were awaiting appearance of legendary musician Rahman on the stage. But they realised that it was just an audio-visual show based on the musician’s life. However, the musical troupe entertained the crowd by dancing on Rahman’s songs as a giant screen in the background showcased the music director’s life.
“I was excited to see my favourite musician. But it was only a musical show based on his life story. However, the performances were really engaging,” Preksha, a student, told IANS.
Naved, who waited for his favourite musician for around two hours, said, “I saw a poster in the Central Park and decided to stay for the event.”
“Overall the programme was good but I was expecting Rahman to come. I really liked the show and watched it till the end,” said Shuaib, a friend of Naved.
District Election Officer Tanvi Garg told IANS, “We knew people will be turning in big numbers on hearing Rahman’s name. People did enjoy the show and gathered the information about the Delhi polls. Our purpose is served.”
Had they been disappointed with the programme, they would have left in the middle of the performances, she said and added, it was clearly mentioned on the poster that Niche Entertainment would perform.
The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer told people that they must celebrate the ‘Matdata Utsav’ by casting vote on February 8 for the for 70-member Assembly. “You should know the value of your vote towards nation building,” he said.
For the first time in Delhi, there would be digital photo voter slip and pick and drop facilities for elderly and specially-abled people, he said.
On the programme, Singh said, it was an experiment and people gathered in large numbers and learnt about the importance of voting and various initiative taken by the poll panel.
The votes will be counted on February 11.
