Gujarat elections: Polling ends with 68 per cent voter turnout in 1st phase

Polling concluded in the 89 constituencies of southern Gujarat and Saurashtra in the first phase of state assembly elections with 68 per cent voter turnout on Saturday, the Election Commission of India said while addressing the media.

“By the time we get final figures, voting percentage may go a little higher and touch last year’s figure,” an election official said.

The poll process of the first phase of elections passed peacefully and incident-free, the EC informed.

The commission had appointed 57 general observers and 39 expenditure observers.

According to the Election Commission, 2.12 crore people were eligible to vote in the first phase of the election in Gujarat.

Though there were reports of technical glitches in EVMs in Surat and some other centres, the polling process resumed after the machines were replaced, officials of the Election Commission said.

After the polling process began at 8 am, people stepped out of their houses despite the cold weather and queued up to cast votes at polling stations.

Several important leaders and candidates, including Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, his opponent on Rajkot-West seat Indranil Rajyaguru, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani and Congress MLA of Amreli seat Paresh Dhanani, among others, cast their votes.

A total of 89 seats out of 182 – spanning the Saurashtra and south Gujarat regions – were up for grabs in the first phase with 977 candidates in the fray.

The election is being viewed as a prestige battle for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a litmus test for the leadership of soon-to-be Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

The election is a crucial battleground for the Congress and the BJP before 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The Congress, in political wilderness in Gujarat for nearly 22 years, is desperate to break the jinx.

Meanwhile, the security was beefed up in the state to ward off any untoward incidents and maintain law and order.

Security personnel were deployed to maintain peaceful atmosphere for the smooth conduct of elections.

The second phase will be held on December 14 for 93 assembly constituencies while counting of the votes will be done on December 18.

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