In an event on Monday, actor Pankaj Tripathi was named a “national icon” by the Election Commission of India. The award was given to the 46-year-old actor for “his association with ECI in raising awareness amongst voters.” The announcement was made in Delhi by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar in the presence of the actor, who expressed gratitude for the poll panel’s decision.
Pankaj, who has appeared in films and web series including Sacred Games, Mirzapur, Mimi, and Newton, was already a state icon for Bihar. CEC Rajiv Kumar congratulated the actor and said that the choice to designate him as a national icon was made considering his dedication to the cause and his widespread popularity around the country.
Accepting the award, Pankaj Tripathi spoke to the crowd while reminiscing his first-time voting experiences. He asserted that the process had given him the right to respect as an active participant in democracy in addition to the right to vote. Additionally, the actor advised all young people to take part in the elections so that their democratic preferences would be represented and their voices would be heard.
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The official Twitter handle of the Election Commission of India shared pictures from the event in which the actor was seen sitting on stage. Another picture showed a group photo of the attendees and more. In the caption, the poll panel wrote, “ECI launches Radio series – #MatdataJunction in collaboration with Akashvani AIR for voter awareness. Actor & State Icon Shri Pankaj Tripathi declared ECI’s National Icon”. Take a look at the tweet below.
ECI launches Radio series – #MatdataJunction in collaboration with @AkashvaniAIR for voter awareness.
Actor & State Icon Shri @TripathiiPankaj declared ECI’s National Icon.https://t.co/TrkhdS5uaZ https://t.co/LWN9iwGeuo pic.twitter.com/pwWvkxHrKG
— Election Commission of India #SVEEP (@ECISVEEP) October 3, 2022
According to reports, Tripathi had joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) when he was at Magadh University in Patna. One of Tripathi’s most well-known roles revolved around the electoral process. He starred in Newton, for which he received the National Award in 2017, as a CRPF officer tasked with holding elections in a region of Chhattisgarh’s jungles that was rife with conflict.
On the work front, the actor was recently seen in the much-acclaimed series Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach. The series also starred Swastika Mukherjee, Khushboo Atre and Shweta Basu Prasad in lead roles. Besides this, Tripathi will be next seen in the upcoming film OMG 2, alongside Akshay Kumar, Arun Govil and Yami Gautam.
