LS polls: On “festival of democracy” Anupam Kher says,” If you don’t vote, don’t complain”

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 20 (ANI): Veteran actor Anupam Kher was among the star power from Bollywood, which on Monday voted in the financial capital of India during the fifth phase of the ongoing parliamentary elections.

The ‘Kaagaz 2’ actor described Election Day as the “festival of democracy,” urging citizens to exercise their right to vote.

“Today is the festival of democracy, and we should come out and vote to elect our government for the next five years,” Kher said to ANI.

Kher further stressed the importance of voting, adding, “If you won’t vote today, then you don’t have any right to complain about anything related to the government for the next five years.”

Earlier in the day, Bollywood veteran Dharmendra also cast his vote at the Jamnabai Narsee School in Juhu, Mumbai.

The polling booths in Mumbai saw a steady stream of celebrities, including Paresh Rawal, Hema Malini, Randeep Hooda, Akshay Kumar, Shahid Kapoor, Sanya Malhotra, RajKummar Rao, and Janhvi Kapoor, all of whom made their presence felt by participating in the electoral process.

The elections in six Lok Sabha constituencies of Mumbai are part of the fifth phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The constituencies voting today include Mumbai North, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, Mumbai North Central, Mumbai South, and Mumbai South Central. In addition to Mumbai, other constituencies in Maharashtra such as Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, Kalyan, Palghar, Bhiwandi, and Thane are also participating in this phase.

Maharashtra, with 48 Lok Sabha seats, stands as the second-largest state in terms of parliamentary constituencies after Uttar Pradesh. The 2024 Lok Sabha elections are being conducted in seven phases, from April 19 to June 1, with the final results scheduled to be declared on June 4. Voting commenced at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm, with provisions to allow voters in line by the closing time to cast their ballots.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), over 8.95 crore voters are participating in this fifth phase, including 4.69 crore males, 4.26 crore females, and 5409 third-gender electors. These voters will decide the fate of 695 candidates vying for seats in this phase.

The fifth phase features key contests in various constituencies, with 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 among the candidates.

Eight states and Union Territories (UTs) are voting in phase 5, including Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Of the 49 Lok Sabha seats contested in this phase, 14 are from Uttar Pradesh, 13 from Maharashtra, seven from West Bengal, five from Bihar, three from Jharkhand, five from Odisha, and one each from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

To ensure a peaceful voting environment, the Election Commission has deployed a total of 2,000 flying squads, 2105 static surveillance teams, 881 video surveillance teams, and 502 video viewing teams across 94,732 polling stations. These extensive security measures aim to facilitate a smooth and secure voting process.