Gujarat, HP election results on Monday
Gandhinagar, Dec 17: After the most exit polls unanimously predicted the massive victory of the BJP in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat Assembly elections, all eye are focused on the actual results to be declared tomorrow by the Election Commission.
Counting of Votes will be taken up on Monday for Gujarat and HP Assembly eletions. The election in HP was held on November 9 while that of Gujarat was held in two phases December 9 and 14.
Gujarat elections are considered as a prestige battle for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he faced an uphill challenge from the Congress President Rahul Gandhi who single-handedly campaigned for the Congress candidates in the state.
BJP is in power in Gujarat since last 22 years and is seeking the mandate for the sixth consecutive time while the desperate Congress is trying to regain the lost foothold in the state once considered its bastion.
The Gujarat elections were seen as curtain raiser to the 2019 general elections.
The counting of votes will be held at 37 centres across 33 districts of the state amid tight security. The campaign turned too acrimonious and often losing the control over language with leaders of the parties engaging in the no-holds-barred attacks on each other.
PM Modi and BJP President Amit Shah targeted the Congress on the issues of Ayodhya temple, alleged Pakistani interference in the state’s polls and Mani Shankar Ayiar’s remarks on PM Modi.
The elections which were to be focused on the issue of development (Vikas) drifted away targeting individual leaders and hurling personal expletives at each other. As the campaign was nearing its end, “Vikas” (development) took a back seat, and caste and religious issues received prominence.
The Congress tried to form an alliance with Patidara leader Hardik Patel, OBC and Dalit leaders Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mewani respectively to corner the BJP.
According to the final figures released by the Election Commission, the voter turnout in the second phase of balloting on December 14, for 93 seats of North and Central Gujarat, stood at 69.99%.
In the first phase of polls held on December 9 for 89 seats in Saurasthra, Kutch and South Gujarat, 66.75% voting was recorded.
The total voter turnout this time has seen a dip of 2.91%, as compared to the 2012 polls when 71.32% polling was registered.
In terms of numbers, of the total 4.35 crore registered voters, 2.97 crore exercised their right to franchise in the elections held on December 9 and 14.
According to the EC data, the tribal-dominated Narmada district witnessed the highest voter turnout of 79.15%, while Devbhumi-Dwarka of Saurashtra region recorded the lowest at 59.39%.
The districts which recorded a high turnout are - Tapi (78.56%), Banaskantha (75.15) and Sabarkantha (74.97). The districts which saw a low turnout are - Amreli (61.29), Bhavnagar (61.56) and Porbandar (61.86).
Out of the total 33 districts, 15 recorded over 70% polling, while 17 others clocked between 60% and 70%. (Additional Inputs from Agencies)