Lok Sabha polls 2024: Kamal Haasan casts his vote in Chennai

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 19 (ANI): Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan on Friday cast his vote at a polling booth in Koyambedu, Chennai.
Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) has formed an alliance with DMK for the Lok Sabha election, but MNM has decided not to contest the elections.
Voting is underway for all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu in the first phase of the general elections.
The mega seven-phase electoral exercise commenced at 7 am today in 102 parliamentary constituencies spread over 21 states and Union Territories.
Voters will exercise their franchise until 6 pm today.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking his third consecutive term, while the opposition bloc-INDIA- a coalition of opposing parties formed to take on the BJP in the general elections, is looking to oust him from power.
In the 2019 general elections, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, comprising the Congress, VCK, MDMK, CPI, CPI(M), IUML, MMK, KMDK, TVK, and AIFB, registered a landslide victory, winning 38 of the 39 seats in the state.
Those voting in the first phase include seats in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry.
The second phase will be held on April 26 and the remaining phases will be May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1 accordingly.
An estimated 8.4 crore male voters, 8.23 crore female voters, and 11,371 third-gender electors are eligible to vote in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls, according to the ECI data. (ANI)