Assembly polls for 1st phase begins in Gujarat; PM Modi urges state to vote in record numbers

Gandhinagar, December 8: The high voltage battle of votes and power between Congress and BJP in Gujarat began on Saturday. Notably, Polling has begun for the first phase of assembly elections for 89 constituencies in Kutch, Saurashtra and South Gujarat and over 2 crore 12 lakh voters will decide the fate of 977 candidates, including 57 women. Polling, which began at 8 AM, will continue till 5 in the evening.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the people to come out in large number and vote. He took a twitter post and said, “Phase 1 of Gujarat polls begin. Urging all those voting today to turnout in record numbers and vote. I particularly call upon youngsters to exercise their franchise.” Meanwhile, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani also urged people to come out and vote and further expressed hope of BJP winning assembly elections.

In the first phase, prominent candidates including Chief Minister Vijay Rupani is contesting from Rajkot (West). He is pitted against Congress' Indranil Rajyaguru. Congress leader Shaktisingh Gohil, who was a former leader of Opposition of Gujarat Assembly, is trying his luck from Mandavi. BJP has fielded Virendrasingh Jadeja against Gohil.

While in Patidar-dominated Amreli, Paresh Dhanani of Congress is pitted against BJP heavyweight Bavkubhai Undhad, the legislator from the nearby Lathi seat. All arrangements are in place for smooth conduct of polls. Both VVPAT machines and Electronic Voting Machines are being used on all polling booths. Tight security arrangements have been made and over 1 lakh 74 thousand police personnel have been deployed to maintain law and order.

BACKGROUND:

However, elections in the remaining 93 seats in the north and central Gujarat will be held on December 14. Counting of votes for the 182 seats will be held on December 18. Currently, BJP has 120 legislators in Gujarat assembly, while the opposition Congress has 47 MLAs. While the latter had won 59 seats in the last assembly polls in 2012, a dozen of its legislators had recently left the party with some of them joining the ruling BJP. The term of the 182-member Gujarat Assembly ends on January 22.

BJP has won the last five elections, the last three in 2002, 2007 and 2012 under the leadership of Modi who has been campaigning vigorously for about two weeks now. Winning five times in a row also means fighting the weight of a 22-year incumbency for BJP. Of the 89 phase-1 seats, BJP won 63 and Congress just 22 in 2012. Congress is hoping to substantially improve its performance, especially in Saurashtra where the Patidar unrest makes BJP look vulnerable.