Bharit, brinjal and voting: Jalgaon collector’s new recipe to woo voters

And in no time, the cookery video turned a hit among netizens, with the district administration stating that its viewership across multiple social media handles has crossed nearly 3 lakh in two days.

“It is admirable that the head of the district administration is talking to simple women who run a small business that makes Bharit and is explaining the process of voting to them. It has simplified the idea of voting,” commented Sopan Gaikwad on YouTube.

The novel initiative assumes significance in the wake of fairly low voter turnout in Jalgaon and Raver that registered 59 per cent and 61 per cent respectively in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In the last Vidhan Sabha election, Jalgaon recorded 61 per cent voter turnout and women voted 5 per cent less than men.

”Bharit is a popular food choice among the residents of Jalgaon. And what better way than first trying to understand Bharit recipe from the kitchen experts themselves and then explaining to them the process of voting which is equally interesting,” the district collector told The Indian Express on Wednesday.

It was found that women in urban areas were not resonating with the direct messaging techniques regarding voter awareness. “So we tried ‘product placement’ whereby we interspersed the awareness about the voting process, the identity documents and the facilities at polling station,” said Yuvraj Patil, Jalgaon Information Officer.

To reverse this trend, Jalgaon district has focussed on the registration of women voters in the last one year.

“The gender ratio of electors has increased from 921 in August 2023 to 931 in 2024. We have registered 25 per cent more women than men during the period,” said Arvind Anturlikar, Deputy District Election Officer, Jalgaon.

Lauding the smart idea behind ‘Bharit’ recipe video, Shivani, a young radio jockey from Jalgaon, feels that women on social media view more reels related to cookery, skin care, fashion, jewellery and dance choreography.

“People have a curiosity to know the recipe of our famous delicacy and when the young Collector himself participates in such a campaign, it naturally brings good viewership,” she says.

The district administration claims that that video has reached women who would have otherwise not participated in voter awareness campaigns.

“I saw the video because I had heard a lot about the restaurant and wanted to see the recipe. While seeing the video, I got to know a lot about the voting process,” said Sarita, a domestic help at a housing society in Bhuswal.

Yuvraj Patil said that making the video was a big risk especially when social media trolling is very common. “But to reach a segment of voters who were not voting in large numbers, we chose to take that risk. Thankfully the video has been received well,” he said.

At a point in the video, District Collector Ayush Prasad asks women staff at the restaurant, “Do you exercise your franchise as per your wish, or according to the wish of your husband?” The women vehemently reply, “We vote as per our wishes!”