Maharashtra Polls: It Feels Like My Father Is With Me, Says Baba Siddique's Son Zeeshan Siddique

Mumbai: Baba Siddique's son and MLA Zeeshan Siddique on Wednesday cast his vote in Mumbai as polling began for Maharashtra assembly elections. Talking to PTI, Siddique urged voters to exercise their voting rights and said he feels his father Baba Siddique is with him.

"I have come out to vote and I would appeal to everyone to come out and vote. It is your right to choose a government and be a part of the world's largest democracy. It is different because my father is not with me but it feels he is with me. And I am going forward with that strength," Siddique said.

Voting began in all the 288 assembly seats at 7 am and will end at 6 pm, an election official said. The votes will be counted on November 23. Over 9.7 crore voters will be choosing from among the 4,136 candidates in the fray, the official said.

In the Mahayuti alliance, the BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena is in the fray in 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has fielded candidates in 59 constituencies. In the opposition’s MVA combine, the Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) has put up 86 candidates.

Smaller parties, including the Bahujan Samaj Party and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), are also contesting, with BSP fielding 237 candidates and AIMIM 17 in the 288-member Lower House. (PTI)