A voter turnout of 60.23 per cent was recorded in the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections on Thursday in 19 districts of the Saurashtra-Kutch region and 89 of the total 182 seats in the southern parts of the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which ruled Gujarat for 27 years, is trying to retain power in the state for the seventh consecutive term. While the leaders of the saffron party including the Prime Minister Narendra Modi And with Union Home Minister Amit Shah voicing confidence in a sweeping victory with a record number of seats, the BJP faces its traditional rival Congress as well as newly elected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has positioned itself Tried to establish as the main challenge. Of the ruling party
vote
Polling began at 8 am on Thursday to decide the fate of 788 candidates in 19 districts of the Saurashtra-Kutch region and 89 assembly constituencies in the southern parts of the state. In the first three hours of polling, 33 ballot units, 29 control units and 69 voter verifiable paper audit trails (VVPATs) were replaced at various stations due to malfunction, the state Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office said.
In the first phase of the 2017 assembly elections, the polling percentage was recorded as low as 66.75 per cent. As per the provisional figures, highest polling of 73.02 per cent was recorded in Narmada district, followed by 72.32 per cent in Tapi district. More than 60 per cent polling was recorded in eight districts. According to the Election Commission data, 60.17 per cent polling was recorded in Surat and 57.69 per cent in Rajkot.
Elections were held at 14,382 polling stations, of which 3,311 are in urban and 11,071 in rural areas. 26,269 ballot units, 25,430 control units and 25,430 VVPATs are being used in polling stations in 19 districts.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former chief minister Vijay Rupani, state BJP chief CR Patil, Rajya Sabha member Parimal Nathwani, BJP candidate from Jamnagar (North) Rivaba Jadeja, former Congress leader of opposition Paresh Dhanani, state Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) president Gopal Italia was among those who voted in the early hours of polling.
major battles
Among the key candidates in the first phase, AAP’s chief ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi is contesting from Khambhalia seat in Devbhoomi Dwarka district of Saurashtra region, while AAP state unit president Gopal Italia is contesting from Katargam in Surat.
Rivaba Jadeja, wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, is the BJP candidate from Jamnagar (North). There are BJP MLAs Harsh Sanghvi and Purnesh Modi from different seats in Surat and five-time MLA from Bhavnagar (Rural) Purushottam Solanki.
The candidates in the first phase from the Saurashtra region’s seats include sitting Congress MLAs Lalit Kagathara, Lalit Vasoya, Rutwik Makwana and Mohd Javed Peerzada.
Seven-time MLA and veteran tribal leader Chhotu Vasava contested from Jhagadia in Bharuch.
voting math
BJP and Congress are contesting on all 89 seats while AAP is contesting on 88 seats. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party suffered a setback when its candidate from the Surat East constituency withdrew its candidature, leaving the party one seat short in the first phase.
Apart from BJP, Congress and AAP, 36 other parties including Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) have also fielded their candidates. In the first phase, BSP has fielded 57 candidates, BTP 14 and CPI(M) four candidates in various seats.
In the first phase, 339 independents are also in the fray.
campaign pitch
The AAP started its campaign with several “guarantees” like free electricity up to 300 units a month, unemployment allowance and government jobs. middle school, among others the BJP stood firm with its development and Hindutva agenda, promising 20 lakh jobs, setting up of an ‘anti-radicalisation’ cell and implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in the state.
PM Modi rallies in Gujarat
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed rallies at Kalol in Panchmahal and Chhota Udepur, where elections will be held in the second phase on December 5.
Launching a scathing attack on the Congress over party chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s ‘derogatory’ remarks, PM Modi said he respected the senior leader as he was asked to obey the party high command’s order to call him ‘100-headed Ravan’. was forced. “I respect Khargeji but he has to follow the orders of the party high command. He was forced to say that Modi has 100 heads like (demon king) Ravana,” he said.
Addressing a public meeting in Bodeli town of Chhota Udepur district, Modi alleged, “The Congress has been saying only one thing for decades – remove poverty. People gave you the power to do that, but you were asking people to remove poverty. They only raised slogans, made promises and misled the people. This was the reason that poverty actually increased during his rule.”
The Prime Minister claimed that the Congress during its government did not give priority to poor people, tribals and people from Other Backward Class (OBC) communities in education, health and industrial sector. Referring to the election of Draupadi Murmu as President earlier this year, Modi alleged that the opposition party was not in favor of a tribal woman occupying the country’s top constitutional post and hence fielded its own candidate.
LPG cylinder became a symbol of protest
According to reports, although polling was largely peaceful, LPG cylinders became a symbol of protest against the price hike in Gujarat as some voters carried them to the polling booths. Congress MLA and former Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Paresh Dhanani also reached a polling station in Amreli carrying a gas cylinder on a bicycle. 27 years of BJP rule has ruined Gujarat. Inflation has badly affected people. The prices of petrol and diesel have crossed Rs 100 while gas cylinder is available for Rs 1100. How will the poor survive? My vote is to defeat inflation, recession, unemployment and to end the corrupt and tyrannical BJP government.
chief’s office Election Adhikari (CEO) said voters in three villages – Dharafa in Jamnagar district, Samot in Narmada district and Kesar in Bharuch district – completely boycotted the election for different reasons.
gujarat election phase 2
The second phase of elections will be held on December 5 and the results will be declared on December 8. According to the Election Commission, 833 candidates are contesting in the second phase in 93 constituencies. This time, there are slightly more women in the fray than last time – 69 (8 per cent) women candidates are contesting in the second phase, up from 61 in 2017.
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