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Happy meals come with voting advice in India

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-21 08:59

NEW DELHI: Indian poll officials have signed up international fast food chains to urge young and first-time voters to cast their ballot during ongoing general elections.

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Branches of McDonald's and Pizza Hut in the capital New Delhi will host promotional campaigns stressing that "voting is a fundamental right and duty," said the city's chief election officer Satbir Silas Bedi.

"The idea was to identify the places where the reluctant voters might go, and then we approached those places to pass on the message about the importance of the vote," she said.

McDonald's is finalizing plans for a series of advertisements with catchy slogans to be displayed in its 35 outlets in Delhi.

The restaurant chain was keen "to support the task of building awareness among citizens and remind them of exercising their right to vote," McDonald's regional managing director Vikram Bakshi was quoted in the Mail Today newspaper as saying.

Bedi said local elections last year attracted a low turnout among young people, and that the campaign would also target Delhi's seven universities.

Nationwide, about 100 million Indians are listed as first-time voters among an electorate of 714 million.

Voting started last week, with Delhi going to the polls on May 7, and a final result due on May 16.

Politicians from all parties have been doing their bit to lure the young, including writing blogs and roping in Bollywood stars.

AFP