The Election Commission of Indiahas partnered with popular animated character Chhota Bheem for a voter awareness campaign ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, scheduled to be conducted in two phases on April 23 and April 29, 2026.
The campaign is aimed at encouraging participation among youth and first-time voters, while also answering common questions related to voter lists, registration, and eligibility. While speaking to ANI, Rajiv Chilaka, founder and CEO of Green Gold Animation and creator of Chotta Bheem, stated that the initiative uses comic and awareness material made around the character to simplify the voting procedure.
“We are working with the Election Commission of India in order to promote awareness of voting and also the significance of voting using the character Bheem. For such a purpose, we are organising a campaign wherein we have created comics that encourage awareness among voters,” Chilaka stated as quoted by ANI.
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#WATCH | Hyderabad, Telangana | Election Commission of India ropes in ‘Chhota Bheem’ to drive voter awareness ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections to be held in two phases on 23 and 29 April 2026. (26.03) pic.twitter.com/TF6JEnWThy
— ANI (@ANI) March 26, 2026
Why did the EC choose Chhota Bheem for the promotional campaign?
Chilaka stated that the campaign is created specifically for India’s young electorate, many of whom are voting for the first time and many of whom may not be sure about the voting process.
“India is a young country, and there are so many first-time voters who are very confused about the process, and because they are confused about the process, they may not come for voting,” he told ANI. Issues such as how to register, how names are included in the list, and whether a person can vote without a voter ID card have been explained through the campaign.
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Chilaka further added that Chotta Bheem was picked because the character is considered neutral and rooted in positive values. “Bheem is a neutral character and is an animated character…it’s very perfectly apt to promote voting awareness among Indian citizens,” he mentioned.
The campaign is set to be officially launched in West Bengal, where Chhota Bheem will also appear as a mascot to encourage youth participation. The initiative will later expand to other poll-bound regions, including Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry.
West Bengal Assembly polls 2026
The campaign comes amid ongoing electoral activity in West Bengal. A senior Election Commission official told PTI that the second supplementary voter list under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll was expected to be published by March 27 or 28. Around 36 lakh voter entries from the pending list have been disposed of so far. The revision exercise follows directions from the Supreme Court that voters excluded from the rolls must be permitted to appeal before a tribunal, though uncertainty continues to be over when and where those tribunals will start working.
About 58 lakhs names have been deleted after the enumeration phase of the SIR exercise on grounds that were held. The number of eligible candidates was reduced in the state because of death, migration, untraceability, and duplication. |
