Actor Vijay on Tuesday came to the voting booth in a bicycle to cast his vote as Tamil Nadu went to polls. Wearing a green t-shirt with a face mask, Vijay was seen cycling on a red and black coloured bicycle to the booth on Tuesday morning to cast his vote in a polling booth located in Neelankarai, Chennai. Visuals of his cycling trip to the polling booth went viral on social media in no time. Many theories have been shared online as to why Vijay chose to cycle to the booth. According to reports and the most popular theory, Vijay came on a bicycle to protest against the rising prices of diesel and petrol.
However, the actor's team clarified that the only reason Vijay decided to ride a cycle to the booth was because it was just one street away from his house. "There is only one reason why Thalapathy Vijay came by cycle to cast his vote. The booth is in the street behind his house. It's a narrow street, and it would be difficult to take the car there. There is no other reason for it," Vijay's team said.
Polling began across over 88,000 booths in Tamil Nadu at 7 am on Tuesday. The state will elect the 16th Legislative Assembly by voting on April 6. The polling in Tamil Nadu is taking place in a single phase. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has arranged for COVID-19 patients to cast their votes between 6 pm to 7 pm on Tuesday.
Early on Tuesday, several noted celebrities arrived at polling booths for voting. Actor Ajith and his wife Shalini stood in a queue outside the polling booth as early as 6.40 am. Actor Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Suriya and Karthi were among those who were seen voting early morning on Tuesday.
Here are visuals of actor Vijay cycling to the polling booth:
Actor #Vijay comes to Neelangarai polling station riding a cycle. Probably taking a jibe at the #PetrolDieselPriceHike ?
— Smitha T K (@smitha_tk) April 6, 2021
Whatever be the reason, he sure has grabbed attention.
Read all updates on #TNAssemblyElection2021 here:
https://t.co/ad0qGmEJQ5#TNElection2021 pic.twitter.com/Od6uMz6uhO
Any petrol & diesel problem sir @actorvijay? #Vijay #TamilNaduElections2021 pic.twitter.com/ojyp79XJkF
— Shabbir Ahmed (@Ahmedshabbir20) April 6, 2021
Thalapathy Vijay Casts His Vote !#Master @actorvijay #TamilNaduElections2021 pic.twitter.com/XOFwlXUizs
— Online Vijay FC (@OnlineVijayFC) April 6, 2021
Visuals also showed a huge crowd gathering around the polling booth where Vijay came to vote.
Huge crowd while Thalapathy @actorvijay came to cast his vote!#TNElection #TNElections2021 #Election2021 pic.twitter.com/AdMQgWNdJU
— #Thalapathy65 (@Vijay65FilmOff) April 6, 2021
#ThalapathyVIJAY casted his vote! #GoVote #வாக்களிக்கவும் pic.twitter.com/pGYPAoq63M
— #Thalapathy65 (@Vijay65FilmOff) April 6, 2021
Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, AIADMK minister SP Velumani, BJP’s Aravakurichi candidate K Annamalai, Director Bharathiraja, actors Sivakumar, Suriya, Karthi, Shruti Haasan, Akshara Haasan, Sivakarthikeyan, Puducherry Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, BJP’s Thousand Lights candidate Khushboo, DMK Chief MK Stalin, DMK’s Chepauk candidate Udhayanidhi Stalin, Former Union Minister P Chidambaram, BJP State President L Murugan etc cast their votes in the early hours of Tuesday.
Rajinikanth arrives to vote #TamilNaduElections2021 #Rajinikanth pic.twitter.com/hJtsg0uRjE
— Anna Isaac (@anna_isaac) April 6, 2021
@Suriya_offl along with @Karthi_Offl and Sivakumar have come to Hindi Prachar Sabha in TNagar to cast their vote #TamilNaduElections2021 #TamilNaduElections @thenewsminute pic.twitter.com/1HfD2O2ZHF
— Bharathi S. P. (@aadhirabharathi) April 6, 2021
Actor politician Kamal Haasan casts his vote in Chennai. The MNM chief wIll then fly out to Coimbatore from where he's contesting @thenewsminute pic.twitter.com/wISOmj6Wpm
— Anjana Shekar (@AnjanaShekar) April 6, 2021
Actor Ajith Kumar and his wife Shalini arrive at a polling booth in Thiruvanmiyur to cast their vote for #TamilNaduElections pic.twitter.com/8Q8Z8bmCvk
— ANI (@ANI) April 6, 2021
Director @offBharathiraja casts his vote in T Nagar #TNAssemblyElections2021 #TamilNaduElections @thenewsminute pic.twitter.com/qpxst5IZop
— Bharathi S. P. (@aadhirabharathi) April 6, 2021
How symbolic Ajith sir is? He has black and red color in his mask! #VoteForDMK pic.twitter.com/buqyFFn4XF
— Rational Tamilan (@ksamhere) April 6, 2021
A total of 3998 candidates including heavyweights like Chief Minister K Palaniswami, deputy CM O Panneerselvam, DMK President M K Stalin, AMMK founder TTV Dhinakaran and Makkal Needhi Maiam President Kamal Haasan are in the fray. The Election Commission will be conducting the polls with due COVID-19 health protocols such as checking the temperature of voters. While the ruling AIADMK is seeking a third term, Stalin-led DMK is making a strong bid to come back to power after a decade of stint in opposition. Polling also began in neighbouring Puducherry and Kerala this morning.