Asked Why She Is Not Contesting Polls, Ahmed Patel's Daughter Says This

Mumtaz Patel, daughter of late Congress leader Ahmed Patel, said the Congress will win in Ankleshwar Assembly Constituency despite it being a neck-to-neck fight in the first phase of the Gujarat assembly elections.

"We are advocating a change. There is a neck-to-neck fight here (Ankleshwar) yet I am confident that Congress will win," said Mumtaz Patel.

Mumtaz Patel voted at a polling booth in Ankleshwar, Bharuch.

When asked about not contesting the elections this year, she said that she needs time to understand and would first like to observe things.

"For the time being, I'll observe and understand things. After that, I'll go among the public and then, I'll contest," said Mumtaz Patel.

"Let's see after a year," she said when asked if she'll contest in the Lok Sabha polls.

Polling for the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly election is underway amid tight security arrangements.

The polling is taking place in 89 constituencies spread across 19 Kutch, Saurashtra and South Gujarat districts.

The ongoing polling for the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections has recorded a 4.92 per cent voter turnout till 9 am.

According to the EC, there are 5,74,560 voters who are between 18 to 19 years of age while 4,945 voters are above 99 years of age. There are 163 NRI voters, of which 125 are men and 38 are women.

There are 14,382 voting centres, out of which 3,311 are in the urban areas and 11,071 in the rural areas.

The counting of votes will be done on December 8. Results of the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections will also be declared on the same day.