Meet Nila: The saree-clad robot greeting voters in Puducherry’s Assembly elections | VIDEO

A humanoid robot named Nila, dressed in a traditional saree, greeted voters arriving at the VOC Government School polling station in Puducherry on Thursday, adding a high-tech touch to the ongoing Assembly elections in the Union Territory.

Developed as an interactive event-based machine, Nila was deployed to welcome and assist voters as they came to cast their ballots. Speaking about the innovation, Kaushik of Robo Mirror explained that the robot is designed for multiple public engagement scenarios, including weddings, official events, and elections.

“This robot has a name, Nila. It is an event-based robot – for occasions like weddings, official work and elections. We brought her from Coimbatore. Nila has multiple features, including a voice function that allows her to speak autonomously. Commands can be pre-programmed, and her voice is audible to people nearby. She is here to welcome voters,” Kaushik told ANI.

The robot, capable of speaking in both English and Tamil, drew significant attention from voters as they arrived at the polling station.

Polling opened across Puducherry, Kerala, and Assam at 7am, marking a crucial phase in the Assembly elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to actively participate in the democratic process.

In a post on X, the Prime Minister appealed for higher voter turnout, particularly among young people and women. “As the Puducherry Assembly elections commence, I urge every voter to come out and participate in record numbers. I especially appeal to our youth and to women voters to strengthen the process of democracy. Every vote matters in shaping the future of Puducherry,” he said.

Puducherry has a total of 10,14,070 eligible voters, including 5,39,125 women, 4,74,788 men, and 157 third-gender voters. Among them, 24,156 are first-time voters aged 18–19, while 6,034 are over the age of 85.

The elections will determine the composition of the 30-member Legislative Assembly, with results scheduled to be announced on 4 May.