Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 15 : Actor Suniel Shetty on Thursday cast his vote in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections and urged citizens to actively participate in what he described as one of the most important civic polls.
Speaking after voting here, he emphasised the need for collective responsibility to improve the city.
"I think by far, this is one of the most important elections, so everyone should come out and cast their votes. We keep complaining about the work of the BMC. Today, we should do some work," Shetty told reporters.
Emphasising cooperation between citizens and civic authorities, the actor added, "We need to be with the BMC and help them make Mumbai better."
Film producer Anand Pandit and actor Maniesh Paul also cast their votes in the BMC elections.
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 such as 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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