Newton actor Rajkumar Rao now Election Commission’s ‘National Icon’

The Election Commission of India on Thursday has appointed Bollywood actor Rajkummar Rao as one of their ‘National Icons’ to motivate voters to come out and cast their franchise. This come ahead of the crucial five assembly elections this year and later the 2024 General Elections. The immediate connect been Rajkumar Rao portrayed the iconic character of a government employee who struggled to get voters to the booth in the movie ‘Newton’. The much appreciated movie character where Rao as a polling booth official tried his best to conduct free and fair elections in a Chhattisgarh town, even braving threats from Naxals.

Earlier, the Election Commission had appointed actors Pankaj Tripathi, Aamir Khan and sportspersons, such as Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and MC Mary Kom, as its national icons to encourage voters.

Five states are going to polling from November 7 onwards. The results will be out on December 3. Interestingly the 2017 movie Newton had Chattisgarh in the backdrop, one of the five states that will undergo polling. Chattisgarh votes in two phases- November 7 & 17.​