Pankaj Tripathi was made the national icon of the Election Commission of India at a ceremony held by the ECI in Delhi on October 3. The announcement was made in Delhi by the Chief Election Commissioner in the presence of the actor. He was already a state icon of the ECI.
CEC Rajiv Kumar complimented the actor, and said that the decision to make him the national icon was taken keeping in view his commitment to the cause and wide appeal across the country.
Quite interestingly, Pankaj Tripathi played a CRPF officer tasked with conducting elections in a conflict-ridden zone in Chhattisgarh in Newton (2017) for which he won the National Award.