Mumbai, Nov 20 (IANS): Voting proceeds briskly with top political leaders, celebs, commoners and slum-dwellers queuing up to cast their vote all over Maharashtra for the Assembly 2024 elections here on Wednesday.

The bigwigs who came out to vote included RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, plus the ruling MahaYuti Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, Union Ministers Narayan Rane, Ramdas Athawale, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, and more, all trooping out with their families.

On the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) side, Nationalist Congress Party(SP) President Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena(UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray, Congress state President Nana F. Patole, Jayant R. Patil, Prithviraj Chavan, Ritesh Deshmukh and Genelia, Amit Deshmukh and Dhiraj Deshmukh, along with their families stepped out to cast their votes.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Chief Raj Thackeray along with family, son Amit Thackeray who is contesting from the Mahim seat, along with other party leaders cast their votes.

Besides, Bharat Ratna and cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar with his family, Bollywood actors Akshay Kumar, Farhan Akhtar, Anupam Kher, Rajkummar Rao, Kushal Badrike, Sonali Kulkarni, and others came out to vote.

Kher lauded the arrangements made by the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) for smooth, enjoyable and quick voting through a series of measures implemented for voter comfort.

Slum-dwellers also came out in large numbers in pockets of Ravalpada, Kandarpada, Poisar, Jogeshwari, Dharavi, Santacruz, Ghatkopar, Andheri and other parts of the city to cast their verdict.

Elsewhere in the state, excited young boys and girls, many first-timers to the election process, either with families or groups of friends came out to vote.

Across the state, several senior citizens also enthusiastically trudged to polling stations, either on foot, helped by family members or police officials, or in wheelchairs.

Among them were Pratap Cooperative Bank Ltd. Founder-Director M. L. Singh, 95, of Wadala, who was brought in a wheelchair by his family members in Mumbai, said his proud son C.K. Singh.

Polling got underway at 7 a.m. and will continue till 6 p.m., with elaborate arrangements made at various polling stations and booths, facilities for drinking water, toilets, first-aid kits, marquees erected to provide shade in the blazing winter sun, amid tight security deployed all over Maharashtra.