To attract and engage voters, several districts have introduced appealing mascots. Sivasagar district introduced its mascot, “Kopouphool”. Photo: X/@ceoassam62029
From traditional rangoli (floor decoration) to gadget-based vlogging, the Election Commission of India (EC) has undertaken a series of outreach initiatives to improve voter turnout in the elections to Assam’s 126-member Assembly on April 9.
The voting percentage in Assam has generally been above 75%. However, turnout dipped 2.3 percentage points, from 83.72% in 2021, after increasing steadily from 75.1% in 2001.
The poll panel is organising rangoli, drawing, slogan-writing, digital poster-making, wall writing, and news presentation competitions, as well as street plays, workshops, and other creative awareness activities. It has also roped in Abhinav Borah, a lifestyle, travel, and food vlogger and para-cyclist Rakesh Banik, who completed a 7,000-km transcontinental expedition from Moscow to Assam, to connect with the voters.
“In addition to attract and engage voters, several districts have introduced appealing mascots, while in some districts, popular personalities have been roped in as icons for voter awareness campaigns,” a statement issued by Assam’s Joint Chief Electoral Officer on Monday (March 23, 2026) read.
The mascots include ‘Bakhar’ of Lakhimpur, ‘Ganabandhu’ of Sonitpur, ‘Jolou’ of Jorhat, ‘Chameli’ of Golaghat, and ‘Dwimlu’ and ‘Sikhiri’ of Kokrajhar, which have garnered significant public attention.
Pledge-taking ceremonies and awareness activities, aligned with the “Jan Bhagidari, Matdata Shakti” theme and World Water Day, were also conducted across the districts.
The statement said that Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Goel, expressing optimism for an increase in voter turnout, appealed to all voters of the State to exercise their democratic right.
Published – March 24, 2026 07:36 pm IST
