In 1999 the coalition government at the time failed to prove its majority, resulting in mid-term polls. These unexpected elections provided PAC with an opportunity to launch an awareness campaign in association with Swabhimana, a platform of civil society organisations whose vision is to make Bangalore a cleaner, greener and safer place to live for generations to come. The main objective of the campaign was to substantially increase the percentage of eligible voters participating in the election. The campaign targeted the youth and the upper-middle class, sections of the electorate who generally tend to be alienated from the electoral process.

Partner: The PAC-Swabhimana campaign was creatively supported by MAA Bozell, a leading advertising firm, and financially supported by various corporate and business groups.

About the Campaign: A number of initiatives were undertaken to popularise the campaign:

• A special programme called Vote for My Sake was launched, wherein more than 100,000 badges were distributed among school children as the messengers of voter awareness. They carried the message to their parents and other eligible voters in the family and neighbourhood.

• A Soul O' the Poll cartoon contest was held, targeted at youth. The contest evinced a keen interest from school-going and college students.

• A vintage car and motorbike rally was held in association with the Karnataka Vintage and Classic Car Club. These antique vehicles rallied across the city with catchy and stimulating messages to motivate voters to exercise their franchise.

• Hoardings and buses carried humorous and thought-provoking messages on voting.

• Three major cable television networks in the city beamed messages as fillers and scrolls.

• Intensive press advertisement campaigns were held just prior to the elections.

Impact The campaign made a significant impact on citizen participation. With the success of the campaign in Bangalore, groups from across the state were motivated to launch similar campaigns in their respective areas with the support of the Centre. The programme was replicated by various organisations in other states as well, such as the Lok Satta in Andhra Pradesh, Agni and YUVA in Bombay, and YUVA in Maharashtra. The programme was also adapted successfully in Bangladesh.