2:08pm: CNBC-TV18 reports the voter turnout in Mumbai remains low. However, some pick up is seen; the youth seems to be enthusiastic about elections this time around. Please vote, Mumbaikars!
"Modi wave is creation of the media," says prime minister Manmohan Singh after casting his vote in Guwahati.
1.50: Till 1 pm, turnout in constituencies in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan is 32 percent and 40 percent, respectively. The number could cross 50 percent by the end of the day.
The figure for Maharashtra is not in yet, but is likely far lower than the other states up until now.
1:45: Modi reaches Varanasi collectorate to file nomination.
Says he hasn't been sent by his party, or arrived in the spiritual city on his own volition. "I feel Mother Ganga has called me."
Outlining his vision for the city, he says he wants to make Varanasi a world-class tourist city.
1.40: On FirstBiz: "Around 75 professors and other academics of Indian origin working at some of Britain's prestigious institutions such as Cambridge and Oxford universities and London School of Economics today issued an open letter, sharply attacking Narendra Modi and saying, "The idea of Modi in power fills us with dread"".
Read more here :
1.25: Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Javed Akhtar, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra prefer the IIFA awards (taking place in Florida, US) to exercising their voting rights. Most left yesterday or before to attend. So much for all the Bollywood talk about change.
Special mention for Farhan Akhtar and Deepika Padukone who altered their itinerary in order to be able to vote as well as attend.
On that note, Bollywood 'thinking man' Aamir Khan was one of the earliest to vote in the morning.
1:15: "The current levels of the Nifty does reflect the discounting of a favorable outcome in election. And that makes the markets very vulnerable if we do not have the result which market is expecting. This makes the risk reward ratio very unfavorable," warns Vaibhav Sanghvi, a hedge fund manager with Ambit.
"The practical approach would be to sit back and enjoy the great election show, get entertained and then make money after the show," he writes in a Moneycontrol column.
Read more here.
1.05: Corporate captains turn out to vote. When asked about their expectations from a new government, launch into typical generalities: "stable government, transparent policies, decisive action, more jobs".
1.00: Outgoing prime minister Manmohan Singh casts his vote from Guwahati in Assam. When asked about frontrunning PM candidate Narendra Modi and the "wave" in his favour, expectedly dismisses it as a "creation of the the media".
12.55: If you're from Mumbai and haven't voted yet, head here for a seat-by-seat analysis and everything you want to know about your constituencies. Click here for a video feature on:
Mumbai South
Mumbai South Central
Mumbai North West
Mumbai North East
Mumbai North Central
Mumbai North
12.50: Thus far, the turnout is a dismal 17 percent on average in Mumbai
12.30: On account of voting in Mumbai, stock exchanges have remained shut.
12.20 pm: In a very intelligent move that instantly captures media attention on a high-profile, high-TRP polling day, BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi steps out to file his nomination from Varanasi with a gargantuan army of supporters.
11.55: ICICI Bank 's Chanda Kochhar casts her vote with family. She says: "We hope for a stable and decisive government."
Meanwhile, Maharashtra witnessed 17 percent voter turnout till 11 AM.
11.30: Sachin Tendulkar steps out to vote on his birthday and says: "Every eligible voter must vote and that is why I am here."
10.57: Suburban Mumbai breakup till 9:00 AM
North East: 7 percent
North Central: 5 percent
North West: 8 percent
North: 9 percent
South: 7.40 percent
10.30: Raj Thackeray steps out to vote
MNS chief Raj Thackeray steps out to cast his vote in Dadar.
10.05: Worli sees poor voter turnout. Though a lot of first-time voters, retirees came in to vote at the early hours. Mid-level corporates started trickling in a little later.
But Peddar Road is seeing good voter turnout. They were queueing even before 7.00 AM.
9.35: HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh's name finds no mention in the voter list according to CNBC TV18, therefore couldn't cast his vote.
9:10: CNBC-TV18's Kritika Saxena reports the Mumbai North-Central constituency hasn't seen a very significant turnout yet. Priya Dutt is contesting from the Congress and Poonam Mahajan, daughter of late Pramod Mahajan are pitted against each other.
N Chandrasekaran, CEO & MD, TCS who voted from the constituency said, "Mumbai has a huge potential, we need to make sure that the infrastructure is built for this city to realize its full potential. It can be a huge hub for the financial markets around the globe and the infrastructure needs to go up. I don't mean only the physical infrastructure, the overall eco system."
Farah Bookwala reports that voter excitement seems to be missing in Walkeshwar from Mumbai's South Constituency and people have only started trickling in only now.
Godrej group chairman Adi Godrej voted from the constituency and said that the new government should address infrastructural bottlenecks and ease the process of doing business.
"Some of the perceptions have to be corrected. Some of the tax cases have made foreign investors stay away from India, those should be corrected. Economic reforms like goods and services tax should be brought it and ease of doing business in India must be improved," he adds.
Farah Bookwala reports that voter excitement seems to be missing in Walkeshwar and people have only started trickling in only now.
Godrej group chairman Adi Godrej voted from the constituency and said that the new government should address infrastructural bottlenecks and ease the process of doing business.
However, the situation looks totally different at Peddar road where people have been lining up to vote from 6:45, reports Archana Shukla.
There is a large voter turnout here and a lot of senior citizens have been coming in to cast their vote. Many people also in the jogging gears to exercise their adult franchise adds Shukla.
8:55: Industrialist Ajit Gulabchand and HDFC chief Keki Mistry casted their vote at St. Ignatius High School and Villa Teresa School respectively.
8:45: Renowned director Madhur Bhandarkar appeals to Mumbaikars to vote."I want to make an extremely strong appeal to those who abstained. #Vote. It takes five minutes and then it stays for five years.#Mumbai," he tweeted.
8:30: A lot of people have taken to Twitter to hail the cooperation they received in the process of voting.
8:00: Other celebrities like Sonam Kapoor and Sunny Deol were seen stepping into polling booths in the Mumbai North Central constituency.
7:50: Actress Vidya Balan casted her vote and encouraged others to do the same. She said this after casting her vote, "I want a change and voting is my responsibility. I have any problems tomorrow and if I want someone to address it, this inked finger is a must."
7:45: Reliance head honcho Anil Ambani was among early voters at a polling station in Cuffe Parade, South Mumbai.
7:20 : Rahul Bose seems to be Bollywood's first voter and took to twitter by posting his inked finger picture saying "And so it is done. 7.13am. Third voter in the booth. Mumbai, aaple vote tak. Mahatvaca aahe." (Mumbai, do vote. It is important)
7:00 am: Voting in Mumbai begins
All six constituencies Mumbai South, Mumbai South Central, Mumbai North Central, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East and Mumbai North go to polls today.
This is third and final phase of Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra.
Mumbai has a poor track record of voter turnout.
