Shalin Bhanot is the first contestant to be eliminated in Bigg Boss 16 grand finale

Shalin Bhanot has become the first finalist to be evicted in the grand finale of Bigg Boss 16. The actor was one of the five finalists in this season of the popular reality show. The winner will now be decided from among the remaining four finalists - Priyanka Chahar Choudhary, MC Stan, Shiv Thakare, and Archana Gautam.

The show has been one of the most prominent and viewed shows on Indian television for over a decade. Shalin started his career in MTV Roadies in 2004 before appearing in a number of TV shows like Saat Phere: Saloni Ka Safar and Kulvaddhu. He was a winner in Nach Baliye season 4 back in 2009.

The finale began telecast on Colors TV and Voot from 7pm on Sunday, February 12, bringing to an end several months of entertainment, tasks, infighting, and competition. The grand finale featured stand up acts from Bharti Singh and Krushna Abhishek as well as dance performances by the finalists. Apart from this, the occasion also saw some reunions as some of the most popular ex-contestants from the show returned.

Speculations and polls around it began days before the winner was crowned. In a Twitter poll conducted by DNA, fans had a clear favourite as over half the total votes fell in favour of Priyanka Chahar Choudhary. The atress polled 50.5% of the 4940 votes in the poll, closely followed by Shiv Thakara with 38.6% of the total votes. MC Stan and Archana Gautam lagged far behind in the counting.

The winner will be crowned later on Sunday night. The winner will receive a prize money of Rs 21.80 lakhs along with a brand new Grand i10 Nios car, along with a trophy shaped like a golden unicorn.