MUMBAI: A host of Bollywood personalities, including Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan, stepped out of their homes and voted in the Mumbai civic body polls on Thursday with hope "right" candidates will win and tackle crucial issues, from infrastructure challenges to pollution.
Actors Hema Malini, Saira Banu, Shabana Azmi, John Abraham, Ranbir Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Vicky Kaushal, Janhvi Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Kartik Aaryan, Paresh Rawal and screenwriter Salim Khan, also exercised their franchise.
The voting for the 227-member Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), India's largest and richest civic body with an annual budget of more than Rs 74,000 crore, commenced at 7:30 am and concluded at 5:30 pm. Besides the BMC, 28 other civic corporations also saw voting.
'Khiladi' actor Kumar, one of the first to arrive at his designated polling booth, underscored the significance of making informed voting choices rather than merely expressing grievances about civic issues. The 58-year-old superstar encouraged Mumbaikars to perceive this day as an opportunity to wield their "remote control" over public representatives.
"All the people of Mumbai must come out and vote, rather than complaining later about things like 'we don't have water, roads are not proper, and that there’s no cleanliness, etc'. So, now it’s our turn and we all should step out and vote for the right person. If you want to be the real hero of Mumbai, then instead of (mouthing) dialogues, come and vote,” Kumar told reporters after casting his vote.
His actor-author wife, Twinkle Khanna, also voted.
It gives us a sense of control, a little bit of power over the narrative. I’m voting out of habit and hope
Twinkle Khanna
Aamir Khan encouraged citizens to partake in the elections and lauded the BMC for making "good arrangements" at polling booths.
Ranbir Kapoor, too, praised the civic body for providing great facilities to voters during elections and even during festivities like Ganesh Chaturthi.
"We complain throughout the year saying, 'our city doesn’t have this or that, and talk all the time about issues', so this is your time to come and vote,” the 43-year-old 'Raajneeti' actor stated.
Actor-politician and BJP MP Hema Malini emphasised that it’s essential to vote for the right candidate to ensure a "cleaner, safer, and pothole-free" Mumbai.
"Only by exercising your right to vote will you be able to make Mumbai, which I believe is the best city in the world, and it can be even better if you vote," the 77-year-old parliamentarian opined.
Actor Bhagyashree of 'Maine Pyar Kiya' (1989) fame she has cast her vote with the hope that the winning politicians will bring "back the glory of Mumbai".
There is a lot of pollution, and many roads have been dug up and this not only causes heavy traffic and inconvenience, but also affects work as people are unable to reach their offices on time, and there have been many accidents. I feel this work really needs to be completed faster
Bhagyashree
Veteran actor Azmi highlighted the role municipal elections play in resolving issues of everyday life.
"If you don’t vote, you can’t complain about anything,” said the 75-year-old award winning actor, who has excelled in both parallel cinema and commercial films.
Yesteryear star Saira Banu reminded voters that every ballot counts and said, “Each vote counts and we have to vote for those who would work for the betterment of the country and the people. Let's hope for the best.”
Earlier in the day, legendary lyricist-poet Gulzar, actors such as Nana Patekar and Suniel Shetty appealed to inhabitants of Mumbai to exercise their voting rights.
"We are rooted in our homeland, and your vote is to nurture those roots and to nurture democracy, hence we should fulfill this duty (of voting) towards our country,” Gulzar, adding, “If you don’t vote, you lose the right to complain."
Stressing on the importance of grassroots elections and their impact, 'Dhadkan' star Shetty noted the BMC polls were vital for local development.
"When your area progresses, the country will automatically progress. We often blame the BMC for not doing this or that, but they work tirelessly even late at night. It is important that all the voters step out to vote,” the 64-year-old actor said.
Veteran actor Patekar travelled three hours from Pune to fulfil his democratic duty in Mumbai.
"I understand that the significance of my existence is to vote and for this I travelled (from Pune), and I’m returning immediately. Don’t stay at home, step out and please do vote," the 'Krantiveer' actor maintained.
Musician Vishal Dadlani and actor Padmini Kolhapure expressed angst over the low turnout of people at voting booths in the metropolis.
It’s your country, your city, your responsibility and if you can take care of it, take care of it, but if not, sit at home and do whatever you are doing, because what I’m seeing here, there is no sign of the public. There are more officials inside and fewer citizens and it's so shameful
Vishal Dadlani
Kolhapure said she was amazed to see more participation from senior citizens in polling than youngsters.
Others from the film world who cast their vote were: Zoya Akhtar, Sanya Malhotra, Rakesh Roshan, Boney Kapoor, Sonali Bendre, Isha Koppikar, Tamannaah Bhatia, Divya Dutta besides singers Kailash Kher, Anup Jalota, costume designer Manish Malhotra, and TV actor Ali Asgar.
In Mumbai, the main electoral battle was between the BJP-led Mahayuti and an alliance of cousins Raj and Uddhav Thackeray for control of the BMC.