TV stars mobbed at polling booths

Standing in a queue at the polling booth can be tiresome, but not for TV stars. People either let them vote first, or mob them with requests for photographs and autographs. We spoke to some TV celebs about their voting experiences, and while some might find a few of these stories hard to digest, the actors certainly did vote!
Women came to me with shaadi proposals: Jay Soni
I went to vote during the Maharashtra assembly elections in 2009, and many women present at the booth recognised me as the cute boy from Baa Bahoo Aur Baby.A few ladies came up to me and asked me if I was single, and told me that they would like me to be their son- in- law. One lady started showing photos of her two daughters and asked me to choose between them. Another lady dialled her daughter’s number and made me speak to her. Since this was causing a lot of commotion, an officer had to ask everyone to be quiet. He recognized me and escorted me to the EVM and stood guard while I cast my vote, and even escorted me back to my car.
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Everyone started asking for an autograph: Aniruddh Dave
I make adjustments and try to travel to Jaipur to cast my vote. This time also, I plan to go there on April 17. But last time when I had gone, people recognized me as Indu Singh, a role which I had played in Ruk Jaana Nahi. They were like, ‘Arey, Indu Singh aayein hain vote karne’. All of them broke the queue and started asking me for autographs. Some of them asked me, ‘Aap kisse vote karenge? Hum bhi usi ke liye karenge.’ I told them, ‘Matdaan apna gupt hai. Jo bhi jeetega, yehi samajh lijiyega, usse maine vote diya tha’.
People let me vote first: Tina Dutta
I was standing in the queue waiting for my turn to cast my vote, and suddenly people standing behind me started whispering, ‘Ichha (her character’s name in Uttaran) is here’, and slowly everyone found out. I was quite stunned as even the cops had difficulty managing the situation. People broke the queue, and were like, ‘Madam, pehle aap jaaiye’, and allowed me to vote before them. There were some representatives of a political party who saw the commotion and decided to take advantage of the situation. They said to me, ‘Madam, aap iss party ko hi vote dijiyega. Phir log bhi issi party ko denge’. I was there for a long time and people took my autographs and photographs.
More people came to vote because of me: Sambhavna Seth
I am from Delhi, and whenever I have gone to vote there, people have always come to me at the polling booth, asking for photos and autographs. But I remember this instance during the last elections, when people went completely crazy. After seeing me, they started calling up friends and relatives, saying, ‘Sambhavna is here. Come down’. Those people reached the polling booth in no time. Due to my presence, they also cast their vote that day. Agar uss din uss polling booth par zyaada vote daale gaye honge, toh woh meri wajah se thay. Most of the people wanted to get photos clicked with me. I was more than happy. It was quite an experience.
Left without voting: Piyush Sahdev
Once, when I was in Delhi for a shoot, I went to vote. But honestly, I didn’t know which party to vote for. I was confused, and on top of that, while I was in the queue, a few ladies approached me and asked me who I was voting for. I didn’t want to lie to them, but I didn’t have any definite answer either. I felt the dilemma of a person who is fed up with the corrupt system but has no better option. I admitted to the ladies that I didn’t know who to vote for, and there is no such option on the EVM which says you don’t like any party (this was before NOTA was applicable). I left the booth without voting, because I didn’t want to set a bad example for them, that even though I am not sure, I am just voting for the heck of it. I am ashamed of this, but am I the only one to be blamed?
Watch: Sambhavna Seth in conversation with ZoOm