LS Polls 2024: India cricketer Ajinkya Rahane, wife cast their vote in Mumbai

Rahane took to his official social media handle and shared a picture with his wife as they flaunted their inked fingers after casting votes in Mumbai.

While sharing the photo on social media, he wrote, "We did our duty. Have you?"

https://x.com/ajinkyarahane88/status/1792418807744733276

Earlier, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar was among the early voters to exercise his franchise at a polling booth in Mumbai, as the fifth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra commenced on Monday.

After casting his vote, Kumar addressed the media, stating, "I want my India to be developed and strong. I voted keeping that in mind. India should vote for what they deem is right...I think voter turnout will be good."

Actor Randeep Hooda was also among a host of Bollywood celebrities who came out to vote saying,"In a democracy, through voting you have the right to decide your future and that of your country. You must vote...Participate in this festival of democracy and vote..."

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. (ANI)