55.7% voter turnout in Mumbai

55.7% voter turnout in Mumbai
UPDATE: Percentages till 6pm: Mumbai North - 52, Mumbai North West- 50, Mumbai North Central - 55, Mumbai North East - 53, Mumbai-South- 54 and Mumbai South Central - 55.

Mumbai recorded an average of 55.7% per cent polling across all six parliamentary constituencies in first four hours.

In Mumbai, known for subdued turnout in polls, Bollywood celebrities and India Inc honchos gave a head start to voting in the morning hours.

Celebrities like Rekha, Vidya Balan, Sunny Deol, Sonam Kapoor, Dharmendra, Aamir Khan and Prasoon Joshi cast their votes in the morning hours, so did Adi Godrej, Anil Ambani, SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya among others.

"It's my responsibility to vote. To point fingers at others and (if) I face a problem, I need to have this on my finger," Balan said displaying her inked finger outside a booth in suburban Chembur.

Actor Aamir Khan, who cast his vote in suburban Bandra, said, "Voting is an important process in democracy. It is my duty as an Indian to vote".

Actress Sonam Kapoor, who was among early-morning voters, said, "It is good to vote for those who make legitimate promises".

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar cast his vote along with wife Anjali around noon at a polling booth near their residence in suburban Bandra.

The sports legend posted a selfie showing his inked finger on Twitter and said, "I have voted..Have U ? A wonderful start to my birthday as a responsible citizen of our great nation."

Among corporates, Anil Ambani walked into a polling booth in the tony Cuffe Parade locality, not far from his residence at the 'Sea Wind' tower at 0715 hours.

Godrej chairman Adi Godrej too exercised his right to franchise in the morning hours. Rekha, Vidya Balan, Sunny Deol and Sonam Kapoor were among the early-morning voters who gave a head start to voting in Mumbai today.

In Mumbai and also across the state, voting began on a brisk note with most of the voters seemed keen to avoid sweltering heat as mercury has risen to 39 degree Celsius in the last two days.

Actress Vidya Balan was among the first Bollywood celebrity to cast her vote.

Vidya, who lives in suburban Juhu after her marriage with UTV head Siddharth Roy Kapur, cast her vote at a Chembur booth.

When asked about her voting in Chembur, she said laughing, "Why not.. this gives me a chance to come to Chembur..I do come often".

"Its my responsibility to vote...To point fingers at others and (if) I face a problem, I need to have this on my finger," she said displaying her inked finger.

Yesteryear actress and Rajya Sabha member (nominated) Rekha came in a track suit to exercise her right to franchise. Actors Sunny Deol and Sonam Kapoor also cast their votes.

In suburban Dadar, morning walkers armed with their photo voter slips arrived at polling stations and were seen searching for their names in the voter rolls before entering booths.

In neighbouring Dombivali, which falls in the Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency, voters thronged polling booths even before they were opened.

"I wanted to avoid to heat in the afternoon and I was eagerly awaiting for the polling to open so that I am the first to cast my vote. It feels good," said a middle-aged voter.

In Nashik in north Maharashtra, an ex-serviceman said he was voting for the first time in his life.

"While in service, we were posted all over the country and could not exercise our franchise. Now after retirement, I decided that I will be the first to cast my vote," he said.

Another early voter said she felt proud after exercising her right to franchise.

338 candidates are in the fray for the third and final phase of polling in 19 constituencies across Mumbai, Thane, North Maharashtra, Marathwada and Konkan regions.

In Aurangabad, a first-time voter, a middle-aged couple and senior citizens were among the early voters.

In Mumbai, prominent among the early voters were candidates Gurudas Kamat (Congress), Poonam Mahajan , Gopal Shetty (both BJP) Arvind Sawant, Rahul Shewale (Shiv Sena), Adtiya Shirodkar (MNS) and Meera Sanyal (AAP). The Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Vinod Tawde also cast his vote.

Corporate honchos Anil Ambani, Adi Godrej cast vote

Captains of the industry, including Adi Godrej and Anil Ambani, were among the early birds from India Inc to cast their votes in the financial capital today.

Anil Ambani, the head of the Reliance ADAG group, walked into a polling booth (for the Lok Sabha elections) in the tony Cuffe Parade locality, not far from his residence at the 'Sea Wind' tower at 0715 hours.

Godrej chairman Adi Godrej, among the most respected corporate chieftains, also exercised his right to franchise in the morning hours.

However, mortgage lender HDFC's chairman Deepak Parekh was reportedly not able to vote as his name did not figure in the voters' list.

A source familiar with the development said Parekh went to the polling centre in South Mumbai around 8.30 AM where he has been normally voting for decades and did not find his name in the list.

Among others who voted were State Bank of India's chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya, who cast her vote in the Malabar Hill locality, where her official residence is located.

N Chandrasekaran, who heads the country's largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services, also voted in Worli early morning.

The vice chairman and chief executive of HDFC, Keki Mistry, exercised his right to franchise in south Mumbai along with his family.

Former banker and Aam Aadmi Party nominee from South Mumbai, Meera Sanyal also voted before going out in her constituency to oversee polling process.

Ajit Gulabchand, the chairman of infrastructure major HCC and a resident of Nariman Point in South Mumbai, also voted early.

Most of the companies have declared holiday today in order to encourage staff to vote. All the financial markets, including the equity bourses, money markets and commodity bourses, are shut today due to Lok Sabha polls.

Others who are expected to exercise their franchise later during the day include RPG's Harsh Goenka and Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani.

With PTI inputs

Also see: LS polls: Celebs cast their vote