Cricketer Harbhajan Singh was among the first to cast his vote in the morning at Garhi village in Jalandhar in Punjab during the seventh and final phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The spinner, seen standing in line at the polling booth, appealed to voters not to miss “an opportunity” to exercise their franchise.
He also took the opportunity to clarify that he has no plan to enter politics. “There are too many seasoned people in the politics. So I have no plan,” he said.
There were reports of BJP contacting the 38-year-old off-spinner to stand for the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency in the state.
The Jalandhar constituency features Shiromani Akali Dal leader Charanjit Singh Atwal, Santokh Singh Chaudhary of the Congress and Jora Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Earlier this month Harbhajan spoke in defense of fellow cricketer Gautam Gambhir, who is the BJP candidate from the Delhi East seat. Gambhir was involved in a heated war of words with AAP rival Atishi before she accused him of having two voter ID cards and circulating derogatory pamphlets with obscene remarks about her.
"I am shocked to note (the) events involving Gautam Gambhir. I know him well and he can never talk ill of any woman. Whether he wins or loses is another matter but the man is above all this," he said.
Voters across 59 Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Chandigarh will decide their fate in the final phase of the elections.
