India Inc votes: Ambanis among first to exercise franchise

Captains of the Indian industry, including the Ambanis, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran and Adi Godrej were among the early voters in Mumbai Monday during polling for the fourth and final phase of Lok Sabha elections.

Chandrasekaran and his wife voted at a polling booth at Worli in Central Mumbai, while Godrej cast his ballot in the Malabar Hill area in south Mumbai.

Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das also exercised his democratic right near his official residence at Pedder Road, his first vote after taking charge as head of the central bank in December last year.

Others to cast their votes included Anil Ambani, who came in early at a booth in Cuffe Parade, and auto major Mahindra and Mahindra's managing director Pawan Goenka, who exercised his franchise in suburban Juhu.

Ashish Chauhan, the managing director and chief executive of Asia's oldest stock bourse BSE, also cast his vote, as did American brokerage Morgan Stanley's managing director Riddham Desai.

Most of the corporate chieftains cast their vote in Mumbai-South constituency, where Congress candidate Milind Deora is challenging incumbent Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena.

Deora recently got public endorsement from Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and ace banker Uday Kotak.

Other bigwigs of India Inc are also expected to cast their vote as the day progresses.

Voting is underway since 7 am across Maharashtra's 17 Lok Sabha seats where 3.11 crore voters are eligible to exercise their democratic right.

Polling is being held in Nandurbar, Dhule, Dindori, Nashik (North Maharashtra), Palghar, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Thane, Mumbai-North, Mumbai-North West, Mumbai-North Central, Mumbai-North East, Mumbai-South and Mumbai-South Central in the Mumbai region, Maval and Shirur in Pune district, and Shirdi in Ahmednagar district.