Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 20 : Veteran actor Anupam Kher who cast his vote, in the single phase elections of the Maharashtra Assembly, on Wednesday sought to impress upon people about the "cool" factor of exercising their franchise.
After he casting his vote at a polling booth here, Kher said, "Everything is very well organised... The officials are very nice to everyone... There is no bigger celebration in an independent country than elections. The common man keeps in mind his daily needs before he casts his vote..."
"If someone does not vote today, they have the right to raise complaints over the next five years... Voting is cool. Be cool," he added.
The polling, which began at 7 am across 288 constituencies, is expected to conclude by 6 pm.
Other celebs from the film fraternity who came out to vote today included Subhash Ghai, Nikita Dutta, Reena Dutta (Aamir Khan's former spouse), Shubha Khote, Akshay Kumar, and Sharvari Wagh among others.
The election has attracted around 4,136 candidates, with more than 2,086 independents competing for seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
Among the major political parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contesting 149 seats, while its allies, Shiv Sena and the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), are vying for 81 and 59 seats, respectively. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, led by the Congress and including Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), is looking to make a strong comeback after the 2019 elections.
Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place to ensure peaceful voting. The city police have deployed more than 25,000 personnel, including riot-control teams, home guards, and additional units in sensitive areas such as Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar and Dharavi, where vehicle checks have been intensified to maintain law and order.
Early in the day, several Bollywood celebrities including Sonu Sood, Rajkummar Rao, Ritesh Deshmukh, Genelia, and Ali Fazal were seen heading to polling stations, sharing their support for the democratic process and urging the citizens of Maharashtra to vote.
The elections, with an unprecedented number of candidates, are a closely watched political battle. The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which includes the Shiv Sena (led by Eknath Shinde) and the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), is facing off against the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), an alliance of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction).
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