Shimla, Apr 8 (PTI) Cyclist Jaspreet Pal was roped in as Himachal Pradesh's "election icon" on Monday, officials said on Monday.
Pal, 44, will encourage the youth to vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, they said.
A document of understanding was signed by Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Maneesh Garg and Pal here on Monday, a statement issued here said.
Pal, a resident of Upper Samkhetar in Mandi district, is an avid cyclist and also a professional photographer. He has been involved in improving child literacy rate and environment preservation in the state.
Interacting with Pal, the CEO suggested organising a cycle relay race across the state for voter awareness and mass mobilisation.
The CEO said Pal has covered around 21,000 km, including in several treacherous terrains, and has won the FireFox Challenge cycling championship and was ranked second in the MTB championship in 2021.
The idea behind engaging Jaspreet as the "election icon" is to get the youth, both in urban and rural areas of the state, involved in the elections, the CEO said.
Chairing a meeting of the State Systematic Voters Education & Electoral Participation (SVEEP) core committee held here, Garg said citizens who are above 18 years on April 1, 2024 can also register themselves as voters for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Himachal Pradesh.
He said new voters can also check their name in the voters list by downloading the Voters Helpline App from Google Play.
Detailed discussions were also held regarding formulating a comprehensive SVEEP strategy and monitoring voter awareness in the state.