The second phase of voting for the Gujarat Assembly polls began on Monday at 8 a.m. in 93 constituencies spread across 14 districts in the state’s central and northern regions.
In these Assembly segments spread across Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Gandhinagar, and other districts, 833 candidates from 61 political parties are contesting the polls, including Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will vote at a polling station set up in a school in Ahmedabad’s Ranip area, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah will vote at a municipal centre in the Naranpura area.
The BJP is seeking a seventh consecutive term in Gujarat, where the new poll entrant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has added a third dimension to the traditional bipolar contest between the saffron party and the Congress.
The first phase of voting for 89 seats in Saurashtra, Kutch and south Gujarat regions was held on December 1, when an average voter turnout of 63.31 per cent was recorded.
The total of 182 Assembly seats will be counted on December 8.
The 833 candidates running in the second round of voting include 285 independents.
A total of 2.51 crore voters, including 1.29 crore men and 1.22 crore women, are eligible to vote in the second round of elections. According to the Election Commission, there are 5.96 lakh voters between the ages of 18 and 19.
The election commission has set up 14,975 polling stations and has deployed 1.13 lakh election workers.
Some of the important constituencies in the second phase of polls include Ghatlodia (in Ahmedabad district) of CM Bhupendra Patel, Viramgam seat (also in Ahmedabad) from where Patidar leader Hardik Patel is fighting on the BJP’s ticket, Alpesh Thakor is fighting as the saffron party candidate.
PM Modi conducted a flurry of campaigning for BJP candidates on December 1 and 2, including two back-to-back road shows in Ahmedabad.