Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], January 30 (ANI): In a bid to spread awareness among voters on the importance of their votes ahead of Punjab Assembly Elections, the office of Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, on Sunday, through a Facebook live, unveiled its election mascot "Shera" depicting a lion.

On this occasion, five Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) were specially invited as guests of honour.

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Speaking on the launch, Chief Electoral Officer of Punjab, Dr S Karuna Raju, IAS, said that dressed in traditional Punjabi attire, the Election Mascot 'Shera' represents the rich cultural heritage of Punjab.

"Promoted under the Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) project, the mascot aims to increase voter awareness and participation in the elections to increase voter turnout and promote ethical voting," he said.

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As part of the SVEEP plan, posters, effigies and big sized cut-outs will be used of Election Mascot 'Shera' besides extensively disseminating voter awareness messages on social media. The aim is to particularly strike a chord with the youth of the state.

Raju further said that the voter awareness campaign has been conceived and executed keeping in mind the culture of Punjab and the preferences of voters.

Giving an instance, he said, "Nukkad Nataks and performances of theatre artistes enacting as 'Bhands' are widely shown across Punjab to establish strong connections with voters."

A special feedback drive headed by SVEEP Consultant Manpreet Aneja was undertaken to gauge the preferences of voters and as per the feedback received, the mascot was developed by Jasvinder Singh and Rahul Attreja, the designers engaged from C-DAC, Mohali for the SVEEP project.

Punjab will go to Assembly polls on February 20 and the counting of votes will take place on March 10. (ANI)

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