Women standing in a queue to cast their vote at a polling booth in Bhalgamda village, Gujarat on December 01, 2022. Photo Credit: Vijay Soneji
Voting begins in Gujarat on December 1, 2022 first phase of assembly elections As many as 788 candidates are in the fray in 89 assembly constituencies spread over 19 districts of Saurashtra-Kutch and southern parts of the state.
Of the 4.91 crore registered voters in Gujarat, 2.4 crore are eligible to vote in the first phase of elections. These include 5.74 lakh voters in the age group of 18-19 years and 4,945 voters above the age of 99 years, said the state CEO’s office.
amidst accusations, a long drawn out campaign The ruling BJP, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, the latest entrants into the political arena in the state, have what appears to be a dreary election season compared to 2017, when the election took place in the backdrop of two massive agitations across the state by Patidars and OBCs respectively.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has ruled Gujarat for 27 years, is trying to retain power in the state for a seventh consecutive term. If successful, it will equal the record of the Left Front government winning West Bengal elections seven times in a row till 2011.
This time, the BJP faces competition not only from its traditional rival Congress, but also from new election entrant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has sought to position itself as the main challenger to the ruling party. have tried.
BJP and Congress are contesting on all 89 seats.
Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is contesting on 88 seats. Its candidate from the Surat East constituency had withdrawn its candidature, leaving the party one seat short of contesting in the first phase.
PM Modi will hold a 50 km long roadshow in Ahmedabad today for the second phase of Gujarat elections.
After a gap of two days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will once again return to the Gujarat election campaign and this time with a three-hour mega roadshow spread across 16 assembly constituencies for the second phase of the state assembly polls.
According to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), this mega show will cover a distance of over 50 km in Gandhinagar South constituency, starting from Naroda Gam.
The Prime Minister’s roadshow is likely to start at 3:30 pm and is expected to go on till 6:30 pm today, with PM Modi making at least 35 stops at memorials of prominent personalities including Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, Sardar Vallabhbhai. Patel and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on the way.
The Prime Minister’s roadshow is expected to cover 16 assembly constituencies that will go to polls in the second phase of the Gujarat elections on December 5. ANI
Exercise franchise in record numbers, PM Modi tells first-time voters
As polling for the first phase of the Gujarat assembly elections began on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon people, especially first-time voters, to come out in large numbers to exercise their franchise.
“Today is the first phase of Gujarat elections. I call upon all those voting today, especially first-time voters, to exercise their franchise in record numbers,” PM Modi said in a tweet.
Voting begins at 14,382 polling stations, live webcasting for close monitoring
Voting began at 8 a.m. on Thursday for the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections in 19 districts of the Saurashtra-Kutch region and 89 of the total 182 seats in the southern parts of the state, which will decide the fate of 788 candidates.
The state Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office said polling is taking place at 14,382 polling stations, of which 3,311 are in urban and 11,071 in rural areas.
Live webcasting is being done from 13,065 polling stations to keep a close watch on the process. PTI