Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Actors Akshay Kumar, Rajkummar Rao, Shubha Khote cast vote

Mumbai: Actors Akshay Kumar, Rajkummar Rao, Shubha Khote, filmmaker Farhan Akhtar and other Bollywood personalities stepped out early Wednesday morning to vote for the Maharashtra Assembly Elections.

Voting began in all 288 assembly seats in the state at 7 am and will end at 6 pm.

“The best thing is that the arrangements are good (at the polling booth), especially for senior citizens, there’s cleanliness. Everyone should come out and vote because that’s the most important thing,” Kumar told reporters after casting his vote.

Actor Akshay Kumar interacts with the media after casting vote at a polling station during the Maharashtra Assembly elections, in Mumbai.

Rao also appealed to the people to cast vote.

“It is our right in democracy to vote, so it’s important we step out and vote in Maharashtra. I’ve performed my duty. It’s your turn, please vote, it’s very important,” the Stree 2 actor told PTI.

Actor Rajkummar Rao shows his finger marked with indelible ink after casting vote during the Maharashtra Assembly elections, in Mumbai.

Veteran actor Shubha Khote arrived with her daughter Bhavana Balsavar to cast vote.

Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar and his director-producer sister Zoya Akhtar also stepped out early to vote.

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Actor Sonu Sood, who also exercised his franchise, said, "Voting is important for a country. It's the responsibility of every citizen to vote, don't take it as a holiday."

TV actor Gautami Kapoor said it’s important for people of all age groups to exercise their democratic right during elections.

"I’ve cast my vote. It’s very important to vote and everybody in India should vote whether you are young or old, make yourself available because one vote will change the country,” Kapoor said.

The electoral battle is between the ruling Mahayuti alliance, comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

On the opposition front, there is Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), consisting of the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP).

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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