As the fifth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections 2024 commenced on Monday morning across 49 parliamentary constituencies, Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor exercised his franchise at a polling booth in Mumbai.
The ‘Kabir Singh’ actor took to his Instagram handle to share a picture proudly displaying the indelible ink mark on his finger, urging his fans to fulfill their democratic duty. Shahid wrote, “Cast your vote, every vote matters.”
Earlier in the day, several other Bollywood celebrities, including Akshay Kumar, Janhvi Kapoor, RajKummar Rao, Zoya Akhtar, and Farhan Akhtar, were also seen at their respective polling booths, emphasizing the importance of participating in the democratic process.
The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is a significant part of the seven-phase electoral process, with elaborate arrangements in place to ensure a smooth and secure voting experience for all citizens.
In Maharashtra, elections are underway for 6 Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai, including 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 are Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, Kalyan, Palghar, Bhiwandi, and Thane. Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second largest after Uttar Pradesh.
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections are being conducted in seven phases from April 19 to June 1, with the counting and results scheduled for June 4. Voting commenced at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm, with those in line by the closing time still allowed to vote.
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), over 8.95 crore voters, including 4.69 crore males, 4.26 crore females, and 5409 third-gender electors, will decide the fate of 695 candidates in the fifth phase of voting.
Key contests are taking place in various constituencies, with 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 vying for electoral success.
Eight states/UTs participating in phase 5 are Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Out of the 49 Lok Sabha seats, 14 are 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.
To ensure a peaceful voting environment, a total of 2,000 flying squads, 2105 static surveillance teams, 881 video surveillance teams, and 502 video viewing teams are maintaining round-the-clock surveillance across the 94,732 polling stations.