Posters of a sprightly spotted deer with twinkling eyes, draped in a traditional "dhoti", are wooing the electorate in West Bengal's Nadia district.It is courtesy the Election Commission's Systematic Voter Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) activities.The official poll mascot in Nadia, christened "Mriga Babu", represents the cartoon version of the spotted deer which is found in abundance in the district's Bethuadahari Wildlife Sanctuary spread over an area of 67 hectares."Since the spotted deer is well known in the area, people can relate to the posters and stickers that are being distributed to increase the voter turnout," a district administrative official Friday told IANS.
According to Partha Chakraborty, officer in-charge of elections in Nadia, the mascot is being popularised through street theatre as well to make a wider reach among the more than 37 lakh electorate.The two Lok Sabha constituencies in the district - Krishnanagar and Ranaghat - go to the hustings in the state's fifth and last phase May 12.The district also has two fragmented parliamentary constituencies. While the Karimnagar assembly segment is part of the Murshidabad Lok Sabha constituency, Haringhata and Kalyani come under Bongaon.The constituencies go to polls May 12.