Gujarat sees 19.17% voter turnout till 11 am in phase 2

An average voter turnout of 19.17 per cent was recorded in the first three hours of polling till 11 am on Monday in the second phase of Gujarat Assembly elections in 93 seats across 14 districts of north and central regions, the Election Commission said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel were among the early voters who exercised their franchise at different booths in Ahmedabad.

Track live updates of Gujarat Assembly polls here

The electoral fate of CM Bhupendra Patel and 832 other candidates including 285 independent nominees will be decided in the second phase. Voting began at 8 am across 14,975 polling stations. Till 11 am, Chhota Udepur district recorded the highest turnout at 23.33 per cent. In Ahmedabad, it stood at 16.81 per cent, the lowest among 14 districts, the Election Commission said in its latest update. Vadodara recorded 19.13 per cent voting, it said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (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 two candidates. Among other parties, the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) has fielded 12 candidates and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) 44.

Voting is under way in the 93 Assembly seats spread across 14 districts including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Gandhinagar.

In the 2017 Assembly polls, the ruling BJP won 51 of these seats, Congress 39, while three seats went to independent candidates. In central Gujarat, the BJP had bagged 37 seats, outnumbering the Congress which got 22. But in north Gujarat, the Congress had won 17 seats while the saffron party got 14.