A low turnout marked the first phase of voting in the Gujarat Assembly elections, with the 89 seats in Saurashtra and south Gujarat which went to the polls on Thursday registering a turnout of 60.2%. In the 2017 elections, more than 65% turnout was registered in these districts.
“The polling has concluded peacefully in the first phase of Assembly elections today,” said Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer P. Bharathi.
The first phase of voting for the Gujarat assembly election began at 8 am and ended at
According to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), voting halted in a few places due to the malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines as well as control units and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs). The faulty units were replaced and the process resumed.
In Saurashtra districts such as Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh and Bhavnagar, the turnout remained low compared to the last Assembly polls. Tapi district in South Gujarat recorded the highest voting turnout of 72.32%. The tribal-dominated district comprises the two Assembly constituencies of Vyara and Nizar. With 68.09% turnout, Narmada district stood second.
Meanwhile, campaigning has intensified for the second phase of assembly elections in Gujarat. Senior leaders from all political parties are engaged in high-voltage campaigning to woo the voters.Senior BJP leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address three rallies at Kalol, Chhota Udepur, and Himmatnagar on Thursday.
Congress State president Jagdish Thakor and other party leaders will also campaign in favour of the party candidates. From the Aam Aadmi Party, National Convener Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab CM Bhagwant Maan, and Harbhajan Singh will lead a roadshow in Ahmedabad.