- Saturday, July 27, 2024
Six parliamentary constituencies in the city went to polling on May 20 when India held the fifth phase of its national election.
By: Shubham Ghosh
A NUMBER of prominent Indian citizens were seen casting ballots in Mumbai, India’s financial capital as well as the centre of the country’s Hindi film industry, on Monday (20) as the fifth phase of the general elections was held.
Among those who were seen in the polling queues in various centres in the Maximum City were federal trade minister Piyush Goyal, who himself is contesting from Mumbai North parliamentary constituency; industrialists Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani and Ratan Tata and film personalities such as Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Aishwarya Rai, Jahnvi Kapoor, Farhan Akhtar, his sister Zoya Akhtar, Ashutosh Gowariker, Diya Mirza, Shubha Khote, Aamir Khan, and Sanya Malhotra, among others.
Maharashtra’s chief minister Eknath Shinde also cast his ballot.
“I want my India to be developed and strong and I kept these things in my mind when I went to cast my vote. All Indians should think what is right for them and vote,” Kumar said after casting his vote at a polling station in Juhu. This is the first time the veteran actor has voted since receiving the Indian citizenship after renouncing that of Canada.
Read: Fifth phase of India elections held on May 20: Rahul Gandhi in fray again
Akthar, while standing in the queue at a polling station in Bandra West to cast his vote, told news agency Press Trust of India, “My vote is for good governance, the government that looks after all the people, gives us a better city.”
The actor-filmmaker urged people, especially youngsters, to come out and vote. “I just heard from somebody that young people are complaining that it’s too hot but its not hot at all, so please do step out, do vote,” he said.
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“Vote because you have a choice! Vote because you have a voice!! Vote because it is duty! Vote because it is your right! #Election2024 #LokSabhaElection2024 #Vote #Votingday,” Gowariker wrote on X alongside a photo of himself.
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Ujjwal Nikam, a former public prosecutor who played big roles in the 1993 terror blasts and the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, also cast ballot along with his family. The 71-year-old has been fielded by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party from Mumbai North Central constituency.
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N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons; Shaktikanta Das, governor of India’s central bank; and Ram Naik, a former federal minister and the governor of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh who was once an MP elected from Mumbai, were also among the voters. Marathi theatre actor Prashant Damle was also seen.
They also urged common people to exercise their democratic rights of voting.
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Thirteen constituencies in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital, went to polling on Monday and they included six in the city.
Varsha Gaikwad, chief of the opposition Indian National Congress’s Mumbai chapter who is also contesting against Nikam in this election, sported a band on her forearm with words “Main Samvidhan Rakshak” (I am the protector of Constitution) written on it and carried a copy of the Indian Constitution to the polling booth.
Yamini Jadhav, a candidate of Shiv Sena in Mumbai South constituency, told reporters after voting that she has campaigned well over various issues.
“We are the real Shiv Sena,” she added. She is challenged by Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) candidate Arvind Sawant, who has won the seat in 2014 and 2019 but is facing the electorate for the first time since the Sena’s split in 2022.
(With PTI inputs)
