The first phase of Gujarat assembly elections 2017 will be held on Saturday across 89 constituencies in Saurashtra and South Gujarat regions. Over 2 crore 12 lakh voters will decide the fate of 977 candidates, including 57 women, in this phase.
All arrangements are in place for smooth conduct of polls. Both VVPAT machines and Electronic Voting Machines are being used on all polling booths. Tight security arrangements have been made and over 1 lakh 74 thousand police personnel have been deployed to maintain law and order.
Gujarat assembly elections 2017: 137 with criminal background in fray
Stay tuned for live updates:
5:00 pm: 47.28% voter turnout recorded till 4 pm
4:45 pm: During the first phase of voting 1.90% of VVPATs replaced out of 24,689 units deployed. 0.37% out of the 26,865 Ballot Units and 0.38% out of the 24,689 Control Unites replaced too, reports ANI.
4:30 pm: Governor of Karnataka Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala cast his vote in Rajkot.
4:00 pm: EC official responds to alleged EVM row.
No such issues reported till now. Some EVMs replaced due to errors. EVMs were updated with VVPAT, which allows people to verify their vote for 7 seconds: Yogesh Thakkar, Bhavnagar Deputy Electoral Officer on reports of faulty EVMs in 1st phase of polling in #GujaratElection2017 pic.twitter.com/czFeupn7UU
— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2017
3:00 pm: 40.47% voter turnout recorded till 2 pm
2:50 pm: A team of Election Commission reaches polling booth in Thakkar Plot, Porbandar after complaints of EVM being connected to Bluetooth, reported ANI.
2:30 pm: Congress party has made it a practice to say EVM malfunctioned every time when they face defeat, says Jitendra Singh
2:00 pm: EVMs are being questioned in every election. This is nothing new. EC will look into it: Arun Jaitley
1:45 pm: Congress alleges that since Wi Fi is available at polling booths, EVMs can be rigged.
1:30 pm: Congress rakes up EVM issue again.
1:00 pm: "This will be a landslide victory for BJP and the win will be resounding. Congress's campaign tactics have failed," says Arun Jaitley.
There is no issue, at few places where machines had problems that has been resolved, machines have been replaced wherever required. Polling is going on peacefully: Harshad Patel, Bhavnagar District Collector #GujaratElection2017 pic.twitter.com/u5ILpiiFba
— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2017
12:40 pm: 31% voter turnout reocorded till noon.
12: 30 pm: BJP's Pardi constituency candidate Kanu Desai's nephew was caught on camera allegedly giving Rs100 to voters.
12:15 pm: Protests against BJP's Reshma Patel, who is a former PAAS member, after she casts her vote in Junagadh.
11:56 am: In every part of the nation, the Congress has misled the Muslim community, says Modi
11:55 am: Congress has been rejected comprehensively across the nation, says PM Modi at a rally in Lunavada.
11:45 am: 20.9% voter turnout reocorded till 11 AM.
11:10 am: Ahmed Patel says EVM issues should be dealt with immediately.
11:00 am: Election Commission officials speaks on faulty EVMs
Have replaced two machines and one VVPAT, you cannot really call it a technical error, these are electronic items there can be some issues. Now everything is okay & voting has started: Vipul Goti, Master Trainer, Election Commission in Surat's Varaccha #GujaratElection2017 pic.twitter.com/RVF86aW4Wh
— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2017
10:45 am: Ahmed Patel says Congress will get more than 110 seats.
10:30 am: Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel casts his vote in Bharuch's Ankleshwar.
10:00 am: Cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara casts his vote in Rajkot
9:25 am: An EVM at Navsari was not working, but problem fixed after 40 mins. Voting underway in Navsari now.
9:20 am: EVM at Ratnal in Kutch did not work initially but the issue has been fixed.
9:15 am: Some polling booths in as many as five districts experincing EVM problems
9:00 am: A control room has been setup in Gandhinagar, which will monitor entire election process.
8:55 am: Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani votes.
8:45 am: We are going to win 150+ seats under the leadership of PM Modi ji, we face no obstacles, Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani tells ANI.
8:36 am: I welcome those voting for the first time in Gujarat. Please turnout in large numbers, tweets Rahul.
8:35 am: Participation of voters is the soul of democracy, tweets Rahul Gandhi
8:25 am: BJP Gujarat Chief Jitubhai Vaghani casts his vote in Bhavnagar.
8:15 am: BJP president Amit Shah, in a tweet yesterday night, exuded confidence that the BJP would over 150 seats.
8.05 am: Voting begins for 89 constituencies in first phase of Gujarat elections.
8.00 am: CM Vijay Rupani confident of BJP's vijay.
"People should come out in large numbers to vote. We are very confident, no question of any challenge," Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani told reporters.
7.50 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all voters to make the election a successful event.
"Phase 1 of Gujarat polls begin. Urging all those voting today to turnout in record numbers and vote. I particularly call upon youngsters to exercise their franchise," tweeted Modi.
Phase 1 of Gujarat polls begin. Urging all those voting today to turnout in record numbers and vote. I particularly call upon youngsters to exercise their franchise.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 9, 2017
7.40 am: Check out visuals from polling booth no 62 in Rajkot.
Voting for first phase of #GujaratElection2017 to begin shortly. Visuals from polling booth no 62 in Rajkot pic.twitter.com/ju40GxFM1d
— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2017
7.30 am: Election facts: Maximum candidates contesting on a seat are 27 from Jamnagar Rural. Minimum are three from Jhagadia and Gandevi, as per ANI.
7.20 am: According to ANI, voting for first phase of Gujarat elections 2017 to begin shortly.
Voting for first phase of #GujaratElection2017 to begin shortly. Visuals from Piraman village polling booth no.171 in Bharuch's Ankleshwar pic.twitter.com/QmjaAaFl13
— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2017
Prominent candidates in the fray for the battle include Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who is contesting from Rajkot (West), and Congress' Shaktisinh Gohil (Mandvi) and Paresh Dhanani (Amreli).
The high voltage campaign for the first phase ended on Thursday evening.
Earlier in the day, the BJP released its manifesto for the Gujarat elections, 8 December, with less than 24 hours to go for the first phase of polls.
[Gujarat assembly elections 2017: Will NOTA hurt the BJP?]
Sparring between the two parties while canvassing for the polls, viewed as a prestige battle for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a litmus test for the leadership of soon-to-be Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, continued till the very end.
On Thursday, the Congress suspended its leader Mani Shankar Aiyar for referring to Modi as a "neech kism ka aadmi" (vile sort of man), triggering a controversy just ahead of the election.
The campaign shaped up as a duel between Modi and Gandhi, and often turned personal.
The poll narrative kept changing with issues such as the Ayodhya title suit, Gandhi's imminent elevation as Congress president and his visits to temples being raised by BJP leaders.
OneIndia News (with PTI inputs)
