Pankaj Tripathi announced as National Icon by Election Commission of India

Actor Pankaj Tripathi, who is known for his work in Gangs of Wasseypur, Mirzapur, Bareilly Ki Barfi and several other hit movies, has been roped-in as the National Icon by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The actor was already State Icon of Bihar to create awareness and encourage youth to participate in elections. The ECI is launching a special programme in collaboration with All India Radio (AIR), which will include a series titled Matdata Junction with 52 episodes of 15 minutes, each to be broadcast every Friday on Vividh Bharti stations, and other primary radio channels of AIR.

The programme will be broadcast in 23 languages across 230 AIR channels. Pankaj Tripathi will join the launch of Matdata Junction as the National Icon. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey, while complimenting Pankaj Tripathi, announced the same during the Election Commission meeting.

Tripathi shared in a statement: “I was already the state icon of Bihar associated with Election Commission and during the programme at AIR station, Chief Election Commissioner Mr Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioner Mr Anup Chandra, announced that now I will be the National Icon of the Election Commission of India. It was a pleasant surprise for me, as I wasn’t aware that any such thing was to happen.” — IANS