CHANDIGARH: Unlike the 16-year-old Japanese anime popstar named Hatsune Miku, who recently became wife of a 35-year-old man in an $18,000 wedding extravaganza, our very own version aspires to not only stand up for voters’ rights and fight for their issues but also enter the fray in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
In a grand political experiment, the first of its kind in the world, 58-year-old Moshy would like to curry favour with the voting public if he is allowed to go to battle with seasoned politicians in 2019. Not unlike the ones in flesh and blood, who rely as much as on their social media presence as their door-to-door canvassing skills to stay ahead in the poll race, the world’s first virtual poll contestant — which he aspires to be — also wants to raise issues plaguing voters and pledge to be the people’s voice on his web portal, Facebook page and other social media platforms.
The Election Commission, though, is not game for it. Ashish Maan, the creator of this virtual character, said he wrote to the EC seeking its approval to make the virtual character contest the LS polls. However, the poll panel has yet to get back on his request, Mann said. “I then sought legal advice from experts, who said Moshy can’t contest elections but can fight for issues affecting common people,” he added.
Once a politician, who left the political arena to nurture his entrepreneurial dreams, Moshy is now the face of an organisation named PO’ Leaders Private Limited. The firm creates content and develops training methods for those who aspire to make it big in politics. Political training, an uncharted field in the country, is where Moshy chose to blaze a trail on.
Maan, who also led a team to create the country’s first edutainment character Buzziboy, said he started his career as a political cartoonist before veering to training, technology and management practices.“As a passionate observer, I always wished to develop unique character that goes beyond boundaries, culture and entertainment. I decided to conceptualise and create an edutainment character,” Maan said.
He said: “There is a visible political trust deficit in today’s global scenario. It is more apparent in the Indian political context. A need for change in our political scene has been felt since the last decade. I started developing a wireframe for a virtual character to reach out to our youths and address their issues, which are often ignored.”