"India is changing...keep working in national interest": Kailash Kher after casting vote in Mumbai

MUMBAI: As voting for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections began on Monday, several notable personalities have come out to cast their vote.

Renowned singer Kailash Kher also reached the polling booth to exercise his right to vote.

After casting his vote, Kher said that the country is changing and the people of India are responsible for it.

Speaking to ANI, "...I want to say that India is changing and you (people) are responsible for this. I want you to keep working in the national interest."

Meanwhile, the voting on Monday started at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm, with those in line by the closing time still allowed to vote. As per the ECI, over 8.95 crore voters, including 4.69 crore males, 4.26 crore females, and 5409 third- gender electors, will decide the fate of 695 candidates in the fifth phase of voting.The fifth phase witnesses key contests in various constituencies.

Leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Piyush Goyal, Ujjwal Nikam, Karan Bhushan Singh, LJP (Ramvilas) chief Chirag Paswan, JKNC chief Omar Abdullah, and RJD leader Rohini Acharya are looking for electoral success. Eight states/UTs going for polls in phase 5 are Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.Of the 49 Lok Sabha seats, 14 are from Uttar Pradesh, 13 from Maharashtra, 7 from West Bengal, 5 from Bihar, 3 from Jharkhand, 5 from Odisha, and one each from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

In a bid to create a peaceful atmosphere for the electors, a total of 2,000 flying squads, 2105 static surveillance teams, 881 video surveillance teams, and 502 video viewing teams are keeping surveillance round the clock across the 94,732 polling stations.