Hyderabad: South superstars Allu Arjun, Chiranjeevi and Jr NTR were among the early voters in the State as they arrived at a polling booth to get their fingers inked. The Telugu actors were spotted casting their votes at Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad on Monday. Voting in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections commenced in 96 Parliamentary Constituencies across nine states and one Union Territory on May 13 at 7:00 a.m. sharp.
Jr NTR could be seen standing in a queue waiting for his turn to vote in a light blue coloured denim shirt. After casting his vote, the actor had a brief interaction with the media, wherein he urged people to come out in large numbers and exercise their fundamental rights. He said: "Everybody has to use the right of their vote. I think it is a good message which we need to pass on to the coming generations."
Moreover, the Pushpa star, clad in a white t-shirt, reminded people to vote while talking to the media. "Please cast your vote. It is the responsibility of all the citizens of the country. Today is the most crucial day for the next 5 years. There will be a huge voter turnout, as more and more people are coming out to vote...I would like to tell, I am not politically aligned with any party. I am neutral to all parties..."
Padma Vibhushan awardee Chiranjeevi Konidela with his wife Surekha Konidela arrived at a polling booth in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, to vote. After casting his vote, film star Chiranjeevi Konidela said, "I encourage everyone to use their right to vote. Please come and vote..." Following him, cinematographer, director and screenwriter Teja, was spotted at a polling booth in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. "Do not sit at home. Step out and vote so that you do not complain about your government's shortcomings," said the Telugu celeb.
Another actor to join the voting was none other than actor Pawan Kalyan. Pawan Kalyan, the chief of the Jana Sena Party, voted at a Mangalagiri polling booth. Right after him, Oscar-winning music composer MM Keeravani arrived at a polling booth in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad to cast his vote. The composer exercised his right to vote following a slew of Telugu cinema stars at the polling booth in Jubilee Hills. Once the composer cast his ballot, he told reporters, "You have to vote because you are in a democracy."
Prominent filmmaker SS Rajamouli also visited a Jubilee Hills polling station. The director stated, "Show the country that we are responsible and that we care," as he cast his ballot. Accompanying him was his son SS Karthikeya, who requested everyone to come and exercise their vote, citing it as a responsibility.
Actor Naga Chaitanya cast his ballot at a polling station in Hyderabad as part of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Chay showed up at his assigned polling booth in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, in style, sporting a casual white shirt, brown trousers and sunglasses. He cast his vote and then obliged fans to take photographs with him.
Of the 96 Lok Sabha seats, 25 come from Andhra Pradesh, 17 from Telangana, 13 from Uttar Pradesh, 11 from Maharashtra, eight each from Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, five from Bihar, four from both Jharkhand and Odisha, and one from Jammu and Kashmir. "A total of 1,717 candidates from 10 states/UTs will contest elections in phase 4 of the Lok Sabha polls," the Election Commission of India said. According to the electoral body, 4,264 nominations were lodged for 96 parliamentary seats.
The Election Commission further reported that Telangana received the most nomination forms (1488), followed by Andhra Pradesh with 1103 nominations from 25 constituencies. According to the IMD forecast, there is no substantial concern about the hot weather conditions for polling in Phase 4. So far, polling in 283 Lok Sabha constituencies has gone smoothly and peacefully up until phase 3.
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