Gujarat Assembly Elections: Voting for 93 seats in 2nd phase

The voting for the second phase for 93 Assembly constituencies across 14 districts of central and north Gujarat will be held on Monday.

There are 2.51 crore voters eligible for voting for the second phase including 1.29 crore men and 1.22 crore women. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who landed in Ahmedabad Sunday evening, will also be voting on Monday.

The election commission has appealed to the voters to come out and vote in large numbers as the first phase witnessed 63.31 per cent turnout compared to 66.75 per cent in 2017 for the same phase. There are 833 candidates who are contesting for 93 seats. The phase is said to be crucial for ruling BJP which had won 51 of the seats while Congress bagged 39. Three other seats went to independent candidates.

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Meanwhile, Modi landed in Ahmedabad on Sunday and met his mother Hiraba. Later, he went to BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar and held a meeting with party leaders. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Gujarat BJP president C R Paatil, chief minister Bhupendra Patel, among other senior leaders were also present in the meeting. Modi will be voting from a polling booth in Ranip on Monday morning.

The first phase of voting for 89 seats was held on December 1 covering Saurashtra, Kutch and south Gujarat. Some of the high profile leaders contesting the second phase include Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor from BJP while Jignesh Mevani, Amit Chavda, leader of opposition in Gujarat Assembly Sukhram Rathva from Congress.

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The BJP and the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP are contesting in all the 93 seats. The Congress is contesting in 90 seats and its alliance partner Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has fielded candidates in two seats. Among other parties, the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) has fielded 12 candidates and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) 44.

The 93 Assembly segments which will go to polls on Monday are spread across Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Gandhinagar and other districts. There are 5.96 lakh voters in the age group of 18 to 19 years, according to the Election Commission. The poll body has set up 14,975 polling stations for which 1.13 lakh election staffers have been deployed.

Some of the important constituencies in the second phase include Ghatlodia (in Ahmedabad district) of CM Patel, Viramgam seat (also in Ahmedabad) from where Hardik Patel is fighting on the BJP's ticket and Gandhinagar South from where Thakor is fighting as the saffron party's candidate.

Besides, Mevani is contesting as the Congress candidate from Vadgam seat in Banaskantha district, and Rathva is the nominee from Jetpur in Chhota Udepur district. BJP rebel Madhu Shrivastav is contesting as an independent candidate from Vaghodia seat in Vadodara district.

(With agency inputs)