As Maharashtra Assembly elections commenced on Wednesday, several celebrities were spotted at polling stations casting their votes. Videos and pictures of Akshay Kumar, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Rajkummar Rao, and Kabir Khan surfaced on social media, showing them arriving early to vote.
Akshay Kumar was seen interacting with the media outside the polling booth. When asked to show his inked finger, he praised the arrangements, saying, “The best thing is the arrangements are really good. I saw that planning was done well for senior citizens. It’s clean too. Yahi hai ki sab log aaye, vote kare (Everyone should come and vote). That is the most important thing.” He joked with a reporter about arriving early, mentioning that even the reporter had come before him. Akshay was dressed in a black shirt and grey pants.
Farhan Akhtar took to social media to urge citizens to vote, emphasizing, “I urge all people to come out and vote. It’s very important. It is our responsibility as a citizen of this city, state, and country to be involved in its narrative…I hear that people complain about Mumbai and how it should be but when asked if they voted, they will say, ‘No, I didn’t.’ Then don’t complain. This is the one chance that you have to contribute as a citizen. So it is your responsibility.” He also discussed the need for more cinema screens, urging the government and the industry to collaborate on expanding screen availability.
Rajkummar Rao cast his vote early and reminded everyone of its importance: “It is very important (to vote). Everyone, please step out and vote. This is the voting day, it is very important.” He wore a beige T-shirt and black pants.
Similarly, actress Gautami Kapoor expressed her satisfaction after voting, saying, “I feel great. I think casting a vote is amazing. You feel liberated and I think it is very important for every citizen to vote because every vote makes a huge difference. So, please vote…It’s very important, we can change the country.”
The voting for the Maharashtra Assembly elections began at 7 a.m. and will conclude at 6 p.m. Polling is taking place across all 288 assembly constituencies. With heightened security in Mumbai, over 4,000 candidates, including 2,086 independents, are contesting the elections. Among the major parties, BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena 81, NCP 59, Congress 101, and smaller parties like BSP are also in the fray. The state has approximately 9.7 crore registered voters.
