As voting for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections commenced, veteran Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal fulfilled his civic duty by casting his vote at a Mumbai polling booth on Monday morning. Rawal was among the early voters in this critical phase of the 2024 elections.
After voting, Rawal spoke to the media, underscoring the significance of participating in elections. “Then you will say, government doesn’t do this, doesn’t do that… If you will not vote today, then you will be responsible, not the government,” Rawal stated, encouraging citizens to take their civic responsibilities seriously.
Rawal also proposed penalties for those who abstain from voting, suggesting, “There should be some provisions for those who don’t vote, like an increase in tax or some other punishment.”
Earlier in the day, several other Bollywood celebrities, including Akshay Kumar, Shahid Kapoor, Sanya Malhotra, Rajkumar Rao, and Janhvi Kapoor, were spotted at their respective polling booths in Mumbai, demonstrating their commitment to the democratic process.
In this fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, six Mumbai constituencies are voting: Mumbai North, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, Mumbai North Central, Mumbai South, and Mumbai South Central. Other constituencies in Maharashtra participating in this phase include Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, Kalyan, Palghar, Bhiwandi, and Thane. Maharashtra, with 48 Lok Sabha seats, is the second-largest state in terms of parliamentary constituencies, following Uttar Pradesh.
The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, part of a seven-phase electoral process from April 19 to June 1, includes 49 parliamentary constituencies across eight states and Union Territories (UTs): Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The constituencies voting in this phase consist of 14 from Uttar Pradesh, 13 from Maharashtra, 7 from West Bengal, 5 from Bihar, 3 from Jharkhand, 5 from Odisha, and one each from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Voting began at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm, with voters in line by closing time still allowed to cast their ballots. Over 8.95 crore voters, including 4.69 crore males, 4.26 crore females, and 5,409 third-gender electors, will decide the fate of 695 candidates in this phase. Key contests feature prominent leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Piyush Goyal, Ujjwal Nikam, Karan Bhushan Singh, LJP (Ramvilas) chief Chirag Paswan, JKNC chief Omar Abdullah, and RJD leader Rohini Acharya.
To ensure a smooth and secure voting experience, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has deployed 2,000 flying squads, 2,105 static surveillance teams, 881 video surveillance teams, and 502 video viewing teams across the 94,732 polling stations. Additionally, extensive security measures include the monitoring of 216 international border check posts and 565 inter-state border check posts to prevent the illicit flow of liquor, drugs, cash, and freebies. The ECI has also enforced strict surveillance over sea and air routes.
The counting of votes and the declaration of results are scheduled for June 4.