Lok Sabha Elections: Shahid Kapoor casts his vote in Mumbai

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 20 (ANI): As voting for the fifth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections 2024 began on Monday morning across 49 parliamentary constituencies, Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor cast his vote at a polling booth in Mumbai.

The ‘Kabir Singh’ actor shared a picture on his Instagram handle, proudly displaying the indelible ink mark on his finger.

Urging his fans to exercise their democratic duty, Shahid wrote, “Cast your vote, every vote matters.”

Earlier in the day, other Bollywood celebrities, including Akshay Kumar, Janhvi Kapoor, RajKummar Rao, Zoya Akhtar, and Farhan Akhtar, were also spotted at their respective polling booths, highlighting the importance of participating in the democratic process.

The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections marks an important part of the seven-phase electoral process, with extensive arrangements made to ensure a smooth and secure voting experience for all citizens.

Elections in 6 Lok Sabha seats of Mumbai are underway for Phase 5. The seats are Mumbai North, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, Mumbai North Central, Mumbai South and Mumbai South Central.

The other constituencies of Maharashtra that are a part of the ongoing election in the fifth phase include 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 held in seven phases running from April 19 to June 1.

The counting and results will be declared on June 4. The voting started at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm, with those in line by the closing time still allowed to vote. As per the 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.

The fifth phase witnesses key contests in various constituencies. 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 are looking for electoral success. Eight states/UTs going for polls in phase 5 are Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.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.

In a bid to create a peaceful atmosphere for the electors, a total of 2,000 flying squads, 2105 static surveillance teams, 881 video surveillance teams, and 502 video viewing teams are keeping surveillance round the clock across the 94,732 polling stations.