Patna: Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, a diehard fan of Indian cricket and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, has been appointed the brand ambassador of a district election cell in Bihar to raise voters’ awareness in the run-up to the upcoming state poll due later this year.

Chaudhary, 34, also known as ‘Gautam’ and often seen with his body painted in the national colours of India, and waving the national flag in the live telecast of cricket matches, has been appointed the brand ambassador of Muzaffarpur, a northern district of Bihar some 80km from Patna.

Muzaffarpur is his hometown.

The district election officer Anupam Kumar, who is also the district magistrate of Muzaffarpur, said they opted for Chaudhary since he is a familiar face in the country for his cricketing passion. He hoped the idea would help make voters aware about the importance of voting.

“Sudhir being close to Sachin Tendulkar, is a known face among GenNext as he is in every match with his body art and waving the national flag to encourage the Indian cricket team. He can help enrol a huge number of youth voters in the district. So we decided to involve him in this campaign,” Kumar told journalists on Tuesday.

An official report says only 40 per cent of the young voters had enrolled themselves so far even though the assembly elections in the state are little over three months away. Officials say the youths’ participation in the voting process could leave a huge impact on the polls.

Chaudhary who rarely stays in his hometown was quite elated over his being chosen as an icon to lead the voters’ enrolment campaign in his home district.

“I’m really delighted over the new assignment … will try to live up to the expectation of the election office,” Chaudhary said.

He is currently unemployed, having previously worked for state-run Sudha dairy. He also trained as a teacher.

“In 2006, India was to play Pakistan. I wanted to go and watch Sachin play. I was [then] working with the Sudha dairy in Muzaffarpur but they refused to foot my travel expenses and wouldn’t give me leave either. So I just left the job,” writes Chaudhary on his blog. He wants to follow the Indian team all over the world wherever it plays cricket.

His love for the game has seen him even travelling on his bicycle at times to reach the match venue.