Mumbaikars queue up early at polling booths; Piyush Goyal, Anil Ambani, Akshay Kumar cast vote

Polling booths in many parts of Mumbai on Monday saw a good turnout, with prominent persons including Union minister Piyush Goyal, industrialist Anil Ambani and actor Akshay Kumar exercising their franchise in the early hours of voting.

The early voters also included Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das, former Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik, actor Janhvi Kapoor, actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar and Marathi theatre actor Prashant Damle.

Voters queued up in large numbers at the polling booths before 7 am to exercise their franchise for elections to the Lok Sabha constituencies in Mumbai.

Piyush Goyal, the BJP nominee from Mumbai North seat, said the people of Mumbai are voting for a better future of the country.

The BJP leader said he got lot of affection during campaigning as a Mumbaikar.

BJP candidate in Mumbai North Central seat Ujjwal Nikam appealed to voters to cast their vote diligently.

City Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad, who is contesting from Mumbai North Central seat, sported a band on her forearm with words "Main Samvidhan Rakshak" written on it and carried a copy of the Constitution to the polling booth.

A voter in Vile Parle said, "I decided to vote early to avoid the heat." "I wanted to vote and then leave for work," another elector said.

A voter in Bhandup claimed the enthusiasm among electors shows they want a change.

Actor Akshay Kumar exercised his franchise for the first time after his return to Indian citizenship.

Ram Naik and Mumbai North West seat Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Amol Kirtikar voted at the same polling station here.

Mumbai South seat Shiv Sena candidate Yamini Jadhav told reporters after voting that she has campaigned well over various issues.

"We are the real Shiv Sena," she added.

Shiv Sena's candidate from Mumbai North West seat Ravindra Waikar, Shiv Sena's Mumbai South Central seat nominee Rahul Shewale and his Shiv Sena (UBT) rival Anil Desai also cast their votes early in the morning.

Waikar told reporters he is known for his hard work and people know that if he is elected, Narendra Modi will be the prime minister again.

BJP's Mumbai North East seat nominee Mihir Kotecha and Shiv Sena (UBT) Mumbai South seat candidate Arvind Sawant were also among the early voters.