Akshay Kumar casts his vote for BMC elections, urges Mumbaikars to vote

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar was among the first celebrities to reach a polling booth on Thursday morning to cast his vote in the ongoing Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. The actor, accompanied by his author wife Twinkle Khanna, arrived early at the Gandhi Shikshan Bhavan polling station in Mumbai to complete the voting process.

Akshay Kumar urges citizens to vote

After casting his vote, Akshay spoke to reporters outside the polling station. While speaking to reporters, the actor emphasised the importance of voting and encouraged people to take part in the election process. Urging citizens to come out and vote, the actor said, "Today is the BMC election and, as Mumbaikars, this is the day when we have the remote control. Therefore, all the people of Mumbai must come out and vote, rather than complaining later about things not being in good shape. Everyone should vote to elect the right people. If you want to be the real hero of Mumbai, then instead of dialogues, you should come and vote."

VIDEO | Mumbai: On BMC polls, actor Akshay Kumar says, “Today is the BMC election and, as Mumbaikars, this is the day when we have the remote control. Therefore, all the people of Mumbai must come out and vote, rather than complaining later about things not being in good shape.… pic.twitter.com/CibMsSkTsC — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 15, 2026

For the longest time, actor Akshay Kumar held a Canadian citizenship even as he worked in India. After intense criticism for his nationality, Kumar gave up his Canadian citizenship and applied for Indian citizenship. In August 2023, the actor shared the news of him receiving his Indian citizenship. 

In an earlier interview with Hindustan Times, the actor had spoken about the reason for taking up Canadian citizenship.  Akshay said, "I thought that `bhai, my films are not working and one has to work`. I went there for work. My friend was in Canada and he said, `come here`. I applied and I got in. I had just two films left for release and it is just luck that they both became superhit. My friend said, `go back, start working again`. I got some more films and I kept getting more work. I forgot that I had the passport. I never thought that I should get this passport changed but now yes, I have applied to get my passport changed and once I get the renounced status from Canada..."

About Maharashtra local body elections 

Polling is being held on Thursday across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra. The elections are taking place after an intense campaign and are seen as crucial for major cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Nashik, and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena are contesting the civic elections as allies under the Mahayuti banner, except in Pune, while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has chosen to fight independently in most corporations.

According to the State Election Commission, a total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots to decide the fate of 15,908 candidates contesting 2,869 seats across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. A total of 39,092 polling centres have been set up across the state.

Polling began at 7:30 am on Thursday, January 15, and will continue until 5:30 pm. The counting of votes is scheduled to take place on Friday, January 16.

(with inputs from ANI)