In a bid to raise awareness among the masses and to urge them to come out in large numbers and vote during elections, the Election Commission of India has designated cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar as a "National Icon". The poll panel and Sachin will sign a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday, August 23 to generate voting awareness among the masses as a part of a three-year agreement.
"This collaboration would mark a significant step towards leveraging Sachin Tendulkar's unparalleled impact with the youth for increasing voters' participation in the forthcoming elections, especially in general elections (to Lok Sabha), 2024," the Election Commission said in a statement.
Former India captain MS Dhoni is also one of the national icons and there are several other Indian athletes from across disciplines who have been named as State Icons. Here is the list of state-wise list of athletes who have been named as State Icons and have been given the responsibility to motivate people belonging to the voting age group to come out and vote in large numbers.
Andhra Pradesh: PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth (Badminton), Ajay Kumar Reddy (Captain of Visually Impaired Indian Cricket Team)
Assam: Rakesh Banik (Para cyclist)
Chhattisgarh: Saba Anjum (Former captain Indian women's hockey team), Chitrasen Sahu (National Wheelchair Basketball Player, Blade Runner)
Gujarat: Cheteshwar Pujara (Cricket), Ankita Raina (Tennis), Paul D Parmar (Badminton Player in Physically disabled category), Ganesh Mahudar (Blind cricket), Payal H Rathva (Archery), Kiran Parmar (Kabaddi), Bhavina Patel (Para Table Tennis)
Haryana: Amit Saroha (Para Olympian), Harvinder Singh (Para Olympian), Sumit Antil (Para Olympian)
Jharkhand: Asunta Lakra (Hockey), Silvanus Dungdung (Hockey), Saurabh Tiwary (Cricket), Aruna Mishra (Boxing)
Karnataka: Rahul Dravid (Cricket)
Maharashtra: Smriti Mandhana (Cricket), Virdhawal Khade (Swimming)
Mizoram: Shylo Malsawmtluanga (Football)
Odisha: Dutee Chand (Athletics), Pramod Bhagat (Para-badminton player), Jayanti Behera (Para-athlete)
Punjab: Abhinav Bindra (Shooting)
Rajasthan: Apurvi Chandela (Shooting), Rajat Chauhan (Compound archery), Devendra Jhajariya (Paralympic Javelin thrower), Shatabdi Awasthi (Para athlete), Avanni Lekhara (Para-athlete), Sundar Gurjar (Para-athlete javelin)
Sikkim: Sandhya Gurung (Boxing coach)
Telangana: Mahender Vaishnav (cricket), Boya Ramanjaneyulu (Para-badminton player)
Tripura: Samir Barman (Paralympian swimming)
Uttarakhand: Manoj Sarkar (Badminton), Manish Rawat (Olympian/Runner)
NCT of Delhi (Union Territories): Rishabh Pant (Cricket), Manika Batra (Table Tennis), Neeraj Yadav (Para Olympian), Ankur Dhama (Para Olympian), Sharad Kumar (Paralympian)
Lakshadweep: S Rahmath Beegum (Hockey)
