India General elections 2024: Hope all Mumbaikars exercise their right to vote, says Ujjwal Nikam

BJP candidate Ujjwal Nikam. File Photos.

With the onset of the voting for the fifth phase of the ongoing month-long India general elections 2024, on Monday, Ujjwal Nikam, the BJP contender for the Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha constituency, expressed his hope that every Mumbai resident would use their right to vote.

"First, I will go to a temple and then cast my vote, and after that, I will visit polling stations in my constituency. Voting is like a festival in a democracy, and I hope all Mumbaikars will exercise their right to vote," Nikam told ANI.

Voting across 49 parliamentary constituencies spread over six states and two Union Territories (UTs) amid tight security and arrangements began on Monday morning. The voting started at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm, with those in line by the closing time still allowed to vote.

According to an ANI report, the BJP has fielded 26/11 special prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam against Congresswoman Varsha Gaikwad for Maharashtra's Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha seat in an attempt to hold onto the current seat. Poonam Mahajan was the party's two-time MP. As of right now, Varsha Gaikwad is the MLA for Dharavi. Senior Public Prosecutor Nikam has represented the government in several well-known cases, such as the Mumbai attack case on 26/11.

Poonam Mahajan, a BJP leader and Pramod Mahajan's daughter, has held the seat since 2014. Both times, Mahajan defeated Priya Dutt of the Congress - the Bollywood actor Sunil Dutt's daughter - to win the seat.

The six assembly segments that make up Mumbai North Central are Vile Parle, Chandivali, Kurla, Kalina, Bandra East, and Bandra West. After Uttar Pradesh, the state contributes the second-most to the Lower House of Parliament with its 48 Lok Sabha seats.

On June 4 the outcomes of the seven-phase India General elections 2024 will be declared.

(With Inputs from ANI)