Oscar winning music composer MM Keeravani exercises his voting right in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: Oscar-winning music composer MM Keeravani on Monday morning stepped out to cast his vote during the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections in Hyderabad.

The composer joined a beeline of Telugu Cine stars at the designated polling station in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad to exercise his voting right.

Speaking to reporters after casting his vote the composer said "You have to vote because you are in democracy."

Before Keeravani, megastar Chiranjeevi along with his wife Surekha Konidela exercised his voting right during the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections.

After fulfilling his duty as a responsible citizen, the Padma Vibhushan spoke with the media and sent out an important message, encouraging citizens to practice their voting rights.

"I request people to exercise their right to vote. Please come and make use of your power," Chiranjeevi said. Earlier in the day, actor Allu Arjun arrived at Hyderabad's polling station to cast his vote.

Speaking to media persons after casting his vote, Allu Arjun said, "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 of our lives. There will be a huge voter turnout, as more and more people are coming out to vote. I would like to tell you; I am not politically aligned with any party. I am neutral to all parties."

Not only Allu Arjun, NTR Jr and filmmaker Teja, best known for his work in Telugu cinema arrived at the polling booth on Monday morning in Telangana.

Polling for the fourth phase began on Monday at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm across all Lok Sabha constituencies as well as for assembly seats. It is being held in 96 Parliamentary Constituencies.

Polling for all 175 seats of the State Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh and 28 seats of the State Legislative Assembly of Odisha also started simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls.

Of the 96 Lok Sabha seats, 25 are 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 each from Jharkhand and Odisha, and one from Jammu and Kashmir.

According to the poll body, a total of 4,264 nominations were filed for 96 parliamentary constituencies across. Of the 96 Lok Sabha seats, 25 are 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 each from Jharkhand and Odisha and one from Jammu and Kashmir.

The fourth phase is witnessing key contests in various constituencies with leaders such as AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, TMC leader Mahua Moitra, BJP leader Giriraj Singh, JDU's Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh), TMC leaders Shatrughan Sinha and Yusuf Pathan in the fray.