High voter turnout in Gujarat during initial hours

A rush of voters was witnessed across Gujarat in the morning with the voting percentage touching around 20-21 per cent till 11 AM in the state.

"In the first four hours the voting percentage is around 20-21 per cent in the state," Additional Chief Electoral Officer Ashok Manek said.

Long queues were witnessed all over the state outside polling booths since early morning hours. People were found queueing up in front of the polling booths even before the polling started at 7 AM.

The reason for high early voting could also be that the state is witnessing severe heat conditions, where temperatures in the last two days were recorded above 43 degree Celsius in some major parts.

In Vadodara city, where contest is between BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and and Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry, the voter turnout in the first two hours was as high as 34 per cent.

More than 100 people queued up at a polling station in Dandia Bazaar area of Vadodara even before 7 AM.

Mistry, who voted from Sector 18 of Gandhinagar, said the early high voter turnout might be due to heat conditions. No untoward incident was reported from the state till 11 AM, officials said.