Actor Aamir Khan found himself in the middle of the Marathi versus Hindi language debate on Thursday when he arrived to cast his vote in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation election.
After voting, Aamir Khan spoke to reporters and appealed to people of Mumbai to step out and vote in the civic polls. He praised the polling arrangements and delivered his message in Marathi. When some journalists asked him to repeat the appeal in Hindi, the actor responded with a smile, saying, “Hindi mein? Yeh Maharashtra hai, bhai.” When told that his message would also be broadcast in Delhi, he added, “Oh, it will go to Delhi as well? Very good arrangements have been made. I would appeal to everyone to come and cast your valuable vote.”
The comment came at a time when language has once again become a sensitive political issue in Maharashtra ahead of the BMC elections. The debate intensified after BJP leader Kripashankar Singh claimed that a Hindi speaker would become Mumbai’s mayor. This statement drew sharp reactions from Shiv Sena leaders Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray, who recently reunited after two decades.
Raj Thackeray urged Marathi voters to stay united and warned against internal divisions. “This is the last election for the Marathi man. If you miss this opportunity, you will be finished. Unite for Marathi and Maharashtra. Mumbai was achieved through many sacrifices,” he said.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, meanwhile, said that non-Marathi speakers are completely safe in Mumbai. He accused the Thackerays of targeting poor and working-class people for political gain. “This is the third generation of North Indians living in Mumbai. They are complete Mumbaikars in their food, culture and festivals. A few incidents happen and who do they target? Cab drivers and auto drivers. They do it for publicity,” Fadnavis said.
Several film personalities were seen voting during the civic elections. Aamir Khan’s former wife Reena Dutta visited a polling booth along with their children Junaid Khan and Ira Khan. His former wife and filmmaker Kiran Rao was also spotted after voting. Actors Akshay Kumar, Twinkle Khanna, Nana Patekar, Vishal Dadlani and Suniel Shetty were among other celebrities who cast their votes.
Polling is being held across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Nashik and Pimpri Chinchwad. Voting began at 7.30 am and will continue till 5.30 pm, with counting scheduled for the next day.
