Mumbai, Nov 16 (PTI) Rajkummar Rao, actor and national icon of the Election Commission, on Thursday urged citizens to cast their vote in the upcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly polls.

Voting for the MP assembly polls will begin at 7 am on Friday. The counting of votes will take place on December 3.

Rao, whose portrayal of an official tasked with conducting polls in the Naxal-affected areas of Chhattisgarh in the 2017 Hindi film 'Newton' won accolades, was last month inducted as a national icon by the Election Commission (EC).

In an Instagram post, the National Award-winning actor appealed to the people of Madhya Pradesh to fulfil their duty.

'It's poll day in Madhya Pradesh. Don't forget to cast your precious vote and fulfil your duty!' Rao captioned a promotional video created by EC for the election.

Facing youth and urban apathy with many preferring to stay home than turn up at polling stations to cast their votes, the EC appoints prominent Indians as national icons to motivate voters to participate in elections.

Earlier, the EC recognised actors Pankaj Tripathi and Aamir Khan, and sportspersons such as Sachin Tendulkar, M S Dhoni and M C Mary Kom, as national icons. PTI RDS RDS RDS