Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 15 : Noted lyricist and poet Gulzar on Thursday arrived at a polling station in Mumbai to cast his vote in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
Urging citizens to participate in the democratic process, he emphasised the importance of voting.
"We are rooted in our homeland, and your vote is to nurture those roots and to nurture democracy. So be sure to fulfil this duty," Gulzar said after casting his vote.
Bollywood actor John Abraham also arrived at the polling station to cast his vote.
Polling is being held on Thursday across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra. The elections are taking place after an intense campaign and are seen as crucial for major cities, including Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Nashik, and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena are contesting the civic elections as allies under the Mahayuti banner, except in Pune. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has chosen to fight independently in most corporations.
In Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, both NCP factions have come together under a joint manifesto.
According to the State Election Commission, a total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots to decide the fate of 15,908 candidates contesting 2,869 seats across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. A total of 39,092 polling centres have been set up across the state.
Polling began at 7:30 am on Thursday, January 15, and will continue until 5:30 pm. The counting of votes is scheduled to take place on Friday, January 16.
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