Gujarat Election Updates: Voting Underway At 14,382 Polling Stations

Gujarat Assembly Elections Phase 1:

The first round of voting in the Gujarat elections is now taking place at 14,382 polling places. Out of the 89 seats up for election today, the BJP won 48, the Congress won 40, and one seat was bagged by an independent candidate in the 2017 election. 89 seats are up for election in the first round of the Gujarat assembly elections. Amreli reports 10% voting turnout, Junagadh 9%, and Surat 11% till around 10:30 am.

In the southern and Saurashtra-Kutch regions of the state, where 89 seats are split across 19 districts and 788 candidates are running, voting has begun for the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections. In the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled state, election campaigning for the first round of voting finished on Tuesday at 5 pm. 14,382 polling places are opened for voting between 8 am and 5 pm, according to an announcement from the state's chief electoral officer (CEO).

Gujarat's citizens have chosen to support the BJP since the state has made development. People trust the BJP, hence the state will experience more progress. In the state, the BJP will constitute the government, says Kanubhai Desai, the finance minister of Gujarat.

36 other political parties, including the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), and Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), have fielded candidates in various seats that will go to the polls in the first phase in addition to the BJP, Congress, and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). AAP, a recent poll entrant, is running for office in 88 seats. The party now has one fewer seat to defend in the first round when its candidate from the Surat East constituency withdrew his name. The BSP has filed 57 candidates, among others.

The BSP has filed 57 candidates, the BTP has 14, and the CPI-M has four, among other parties. In the initial polling, up to 339 independents are also running for office. 70 of the 788 candidates, including nine from the BJP, six from the Congress, and five from the AAP, are women.

Candidates’ Updates:

Bhupendra Patel, the chief minister of Gujarat, is competing from Ghatlodia, while Isudan Gadhvi, the AAP's candidate for chief minister, is competing from Khambhaliya, Hardik Patel is competing from Viramgam, and Alpesh Thakor is competing from Gandhinagar South. Gopal Italia, the state president of the AAP, is competing from the Katargam district, while Harsh Sanghavi, the state home minister of Gujarat, is competing from Majura, Rivaba Jadeja is competing from Jamnagar North, Parshottam Solanki is competing from  Bhavnagar Rural, Kunwarji Bavaliya is running from Jasdan, Kantilal Amrutiya is running from Morbi, and Jayesh Radadiya from Jetpur 

Prior to voting beginning on Thursday for the first round of the Gujarat elections, Piyush Patel, a candidate for the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) from Vansda, was allegedly attacked late on Wednesday by unidentified thugs in the morning. Patel claimed that while he and his supporters were traveling from Pratapnagar to Vandervela hamlet, they were attacked. He said that the miscreants tried to vandalize his automobile and threw stones at it. Patel suffered head injuries and was sent to the hospital for treatment, a report shows.