The
first phase of the Gujarat assembly election saw a voter turnout of 68 per cent as voting ended at 5 pm, Chief Election Commissioner AK Joti told reporters, adding the Election Commission expects the final turnout to reach the last election's figure of 71.3 per cent. The first phase of polling was held on 89 assembly constituencies in Saurashtra and south Gujarat regions. The voting turnout till 4 pm was over 60 per cent, according to the Election Commission. The voter turnout then climbed to 68 per cent by the time voting ended. A total of 977 candidates
fought it out in the first phase of the Gujarat polls in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state. Prominent candidates are Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP's Vijay Rupani (Rajkot West), and Congress's Shaktisinh Gohil (Mandvi) and Paresh Dhanani (Amreli). The Bharatiya Janata Party has been in power in Gujarat for an uninterrupted 22 years. The BJP is looking to stay in power for a fifth term, and the Congress is also hoping for an electoral revival. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi ran a
high-decibel campaign ahead of the Gujarat polls. According to the Election Commission, 2.12 crore people were eligible to vote in the first phase of the election in Gujarat.
Here are the highlights of phase 1 of Gujarat election 2017:
Dec 09, 2017 15:22 (IST)
Highest and lowest voter turnout districts so far
The highest voter turnout of 38.07 per cent was recorded in the tribal-dominated district of Tapi, while Narmada, another tribal-dominated district in south Gujarat, recorded the lowest turnout of 25.67 per cent in the first phase of the Gujarat assembly election 2017, news agency PTI reported. Chief Electoral Officer for Gujarat BB Swain said that though voting would end at 5 pm, those standing in queue outside polling booths before the process ends, would be given a chance to cast their votes, PTI reported.
Dec 09, 2017 13:28 (IST)
Got complaint from Congress over Bluetooth, says election officer
One complaint of Bluetooth being used inside a polling station in the first phase of the Gujarat assembly election 2017 came from the Congress in Porbandar, Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer BB Swain told NDTV. Mr Swain said the district collector went there to look into the matter. Preliminary inquiry shows that a polling agent's phone was showing that Bluetooth was on. It has been dealt with, Mr Swain said. Other complains about EVMs malfunctioning were during mock polls, and now all have been restored, he said.
Dec 09, 2017 13:06 (IST)
Lalu Prasad tweets "Why repeated snags..."
After some electronic voting machines malfunctioned in Surat in the Gujarat assembly election 2017, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad tweeted, "Why repeated snags & lapses inspite of repeated complaints? What EC is doing for long? Whenever there are EVM glitches/errors why it's advantage BJP? WHY?WHO WILL RESPOND?" The Election Commission said the faulty EVMs in Surat have been replaced.