The Election Commission named India cricket great Sachin Tendulkar as its national icon on Wednesday.

The move to rope in Sachin is part of the poll panel’s efforts to increase turnout, especially in low voting urban seats ahead of this year’s assembly polls in several states and 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

At the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the EC and Sachin on Wednesday, he compared the electorate to a cricket team where everyone has the freedom of opinion.

“But along with freedom comes responsibility... Vote for whoever they feel appropriate. But do your due diligence.

“It has to be a well-thought process. It is not a mere formality that you turn up, so you can say: I have done my duty. It is much much more than that. It can have (a) positive impact on our nation.”

Sachin’s comments come a week after a teacher of an online learning platform was sacked after he asked his students to vote for “an educated person who understands things,” and not someone who “changes names.”

While the former India captain is known for being the world’s highest scorer in the game, his attendance as a nominated MP in the Rajya Sabha for 2012-18 was one of the lowest at just eight per cent.

Last year, the EC made actor Pankaj Tripathi a national icon.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, sportspersons Mahendra Singh Dhoni, MC Mary Kom, and actor Aamir Khan were national icons for the EC.