BMC polls: 30% turnout till 1.30 pm; prominent politicians, B-town celebrities cast vote

Mumbai: An estimated 30 per cent of the eligible voters cast their ballots till 1.30 pm in elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday as prominent politicians and Bollywood celebrities exercised their franchise and urged others to do so.

A BMC spokesperson said the average voter turnout stood at 29.96 per cent till 1.30 pm in the metropolis, which has more than 1 crore eligible electors.

Voting for the 227-member civic body, India's largest and richest, began at 7.30am amid tight security and will end at 5.30pm. As many as 1,700 candidates are in the fray.

As per the polling data released till 1.30 pm, Ward No. 114 in Eastern suburbs recorded the highest voter turnout at 41.08 per cent, reflecting strong voter participation in parts of Mumbai. Ward No. 227 in South Mumbai logged the lowest turnout at 11.24 per cent in the first 6 hours.

Prominent politicians like Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, his cousin and MNS president Raj Thackeray, Union minister Piyush Goyal and former Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik cast their votes.

Bollywood personalities Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan, Gulzar, Salim Khan, Paresh Rawal, Hema Malini, John Abraham, Sonali Bendre, Isha Koppikar, Tamannaah Bhatia, Divya Dutta, and singer Kailash Kher also exercised their franchise.

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, his wife Anjali, daughter Sara and former Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar voted in their respective ward.