Billionaires and Bollywood stars took their turn with Mumbai’s slum dwellers Monday to vote in India’s marathon election as Prime Minister Narendra Modi…
Billionaires and Bollywood stars took their turn with Mumbai’s slum dwellers Monday to vote in India’s marathon election as Prime Minister Narendra Modi steps up his nationalist campaign to sway the 900 million electorate.
India’s film and finance capital took centre stage in the fourth of seven rounds of voting with 72 constituencies across the nation taking part. Final results are to be released on May 23.
At least 40,000 police and security personnel were deployed across the city of 20 million people while workers were given a holiday so they could vote for Mumbai’s six lawmakers.
Long queues were waiting when the 10,000 polling stations opened at 7.00am (0230 GMT).
Priya Dutt is a member of one of Indias most famous acting families and is running for the opposition Congress party
Indranil MUKHERJEE, AFP
Media scrums were set up at the stations where India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, Bollywood superstars including Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan, as well as Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar were due to vote.
Former MP Priya Dutt, a member of one of India’s most famous acting families, is trying to make a comeback for the opposition Congress party in Mumbai after sitting in the Lok Sabha assembly — the country’s lower house of parliament — from 2005 to 2009.
Award-winning actress Urmila Matondkar is running for Congress in the north of the city.
