Gujarat is all set for Saturday's first phase of Assembly elections in which 977 candidates will battle it out to get elected from 89 of the 182 constituencies, with the ruling BJP facing a strong Congress challenge.
The 89 constituencies are spread out in the 19 districts of Kutch, Saurashtra and southern regions. High-pitched campaigning, involving among others Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ended on Thursday evening.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi (left) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PTI
A total of 977 candidates are in the fray from Kutch, Morbi, Jamnagar, Surendranagar, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Rajkot, Botad, Porbandar, Junagadh, Amreli, Gir Somnath, Bhavnagar, Bharuch, Narmada, Surat, Tapi, Navsari, Dang and Valsad districts.
Of the 89 seats, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party holds 67 and the Congress 16. One seat each is held by the NCP and JD-U while independents hold the remaining two.
The most striking battle on Saturday will be in Rajkot West, presently held by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. He is being challenged by Congress candidate Indraneel Rajyaguru, the outgoing MLA from Rajkot East.
Another outgoing Congress MLA, Paresh Dhanani, from Amreli is challenged by a former Congress leader and now BJP MLA — in Lathi constituency.
The Saurashtra region will see some more high profile battles involving cabinet minister Babubhai Bokhiria, Arjun Modhwadia of Congress and former finance and power minister Saurabh Patel.
The Congress has tried to woo the voters with a manifesto. The BJP released a 'Sankalp Patra' or 'Resolution Letter' on Friday.
The polling on Saturday will begin at 8 am and end at 5 pm. There are a total of 24,689 polling booths. Of the 2,12,31,652 voters, 1,11,05,933 are males and 1,01,25,472 females while 247 are from the third gender.
There are eight seats with more than 16 candidates. The maximum of 27 are in Jamnagar Rural seat. There are just three candidates each in Jhagadia and Ganadevi constituencies, both Scheduled Tribe seats.
Wherever there are more than 16 candidates, two ballot units will be put up.
On the seventh and last day of campaigning on Thursday, Modi, BJP President Amit Shah, Rupani and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed several public meetings. The main face of the Congress campaign has been Rahul Gandhi.
The Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), which has been agitating against the BJP government for more than two years, has been asking people not to vote for the saffron party, a subtle message to vote for the Opposition.
Published Date: Dec 09, 2017 10:04 am | Updated Date: Dec 09, 2017 10:10 am
Highlights
8.5 percent voter turnout in the first hour of voting in Gujarat: CNN-News18
Farmers in Amreli particularly angry with Modi
Amreli is predominantly agrarian and the farmers there are particularly angry with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over falling crop prices.
Moreover, cotton, which was sold at Rs 1,200/20 kg three years ago, today sells at Rs 850-900. Meanwhile, the production cost has tripled.
As chief minister, Modi often castigated the then prime minister Manmohan Singh and demanded the prices be raised to Rs 1,500. The main gripe of farmers is that Modi as prime minister has not done anything on this issue himself.
Over two crore voters eligible to vote today
Of the 2,12,31,652 voters, 1,11,05,933 are males and 1,01,25,472 females while 247 are from the third gender.
Polling to take place today for 9 hours
Polling on Saturday will begin at 8 am and end at 5 pm at a total of 24,689 polling booths.
Updates for Saturday, 9 December begin here
The millionaire club: Who has the richest candidates
Polling to begin at 8 am
Poll preparations underway
Minimum candidates contesting from Jhagadia, Ganadevi seats
There are just three candidates each in Jhagadia and Ganadevi constituencies. Both these constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates.
Maximum candidates contesting from Jamnagar Rural
The maximum of 27 are in Jamnagar Rural seat and there are eight seats with more than 16 candidates. Wherever there are more than 16 candidates, two ballot units will be put up.
Mock polls to be conducted at every polling station before actual polling: EC
Amid a host of measures to ensure integrity of EVMs, the Election Commission said that the presiding officers will conduct mock polls at all polling stations with at least 50 votes to ensure that the EVMs are functioning properly. The mock poll exercise will be conducted at least one hour before the actual polling starts.
Dhoraji seat a prestige issue for Hardik Patel
The contest on Dhoraji seat of Gujarat will be a prestige issue for Hardik Patel as one of his key aides, Lalit Vasoya, is contesting from there on Congress' ticket. Vasoya will be taking on veteran BJP leader and former Lok Sabha MP Harilal Patel on this Patel community-dominated Assembly constituency in Rajkot district.
Dhoraji is the only Assembly constituency on which Congress has fielded a leader from Hardik Patel-led PAAS.
Congress promises constitutionally impossible, financially improbable: Jaitley
The BJP on Friday said the Congress poll manifesto in Gujarat promising quota for Patidars and farm debt waiver was "constitutionally impossible" and "financially improbable" and that the party's policy of social polarisation would harm the state.
"One of Congress' poll promises is constitutionally impossible, which is reservation. It cannot go beyond 50 per cent. The Congress vision is based on constitutional impossibility."
The Congress in its manifesto has promised that if it forms the government in the state, it will bring in a special bill to provide quotas for those who are not presently entitled to any reservation and Patidars will get quota under special category. The quota given to OBCs, STs and SCs will not be touched.
Kutch, Saurashtra crucial regions in first phase polling
Saurashtra and Kutch are crucial for the ruling BJP as these two regions have the highest concentration of seats in the first phase. Political pundits believe that the party winning the maximum number of seats from Saurashtra and Kutch will be better placed to form the next government in the state.
What are VVPAT machines
VVPAT machines are special printers attached to the voting machine. When a voter presses a button in the EVM, a paper slip is printed through the VVPAT. The slip contains the poll symbol and name of the candidate. It allows the voter to verify his/her choice. After being visible to the voter from a glass case in the VVPAT for seven seconds, the ballot slip will be cut and dropped into the drop box in the VVPAT machine and a beep will be heard. VVPAT machines can be accessed by polling officers only.
After Goa, Gujarat to be second state to use VVPAT machines for polling
Gujarat would be the second state after Goa where the voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) system would be used, along with electronic voting machines (EVMs), at all the 50,128 polling booths. Political parties have been raising their doubts about the electronic voting machines. However, the Election Commission has said that the machines remain tamper-proof.
BJP launched manifesto just a day before polling; Rahul Gandhi slams party's 'arrogance'
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, BJP Gujarat president Jitu Vaghani and BJP leader Bhupendra Yadav released the BJP's manifesto for the Gujarat Assembly elections in Ahmedabad on Friday. The Bharatiya Janata Party, while releasing its sankalp patra (vision document), said that the document will focus on the party's development plank for Gujarat.
Rahul Gandhi however, slammed the move. "We raised questions about Manifesto & BJP hastily prepared it behind closed doors. Congress asked for it so Arun Jaitley released it. Otherwise why do they need it when they think they're going to govern here for 100 years? Such is their arrogance," he said.
Expect a tough contest in BJP 'safe seat' Rajkot West
The Gujarat Chief Minister is contesting election from Rajkot-West, often seen as a safe seat for BJP, which has been representing it since 1985. However, this time around the odds may not align so easily in the favour of BJP as Rupani is facing Congress' Indranil Rajyaguru.
Though Rajkot-West is a stronghold of the RSS, the Congress has mounted a strong challenge by bringing in Rajyaguru, the sitting MLA from Rajkot-East, to rework the caste combination in the party's favour.
Rupani must also overcome the discontent Patidars, who are the largest community in the seat. Out of 3.15 lakh voters in the constituency, the number of Kadva and Leuva Patidars is the highest at 62,000, followed by Brahmins, Lohana and Jain communities.
Voters from Saurashtra, South Gujarat to decide fate of 977 candidates on Saturday
Gujarat goes to the polls on Saturday for the first phase of the assembly election being held in 89 seats of Saurashtra and South Gujarat regions with 977 candidates in the fray. After a campaign that often turned vituperative, around 2.12 crore voters are expected to exercise their franchise in Modi's home state tomorrow to choose between the ruling BJP and the Congress.
10:10 (IST)
Communal polarisation powerful tool in Gujarat
Communal polarisation is a powerful tool in Gujarat. Amreli has a sizeable Patel population, which has historically been anti-Muslim. The Hindutva card is played by BJP to undo the Hardik Patel effect.
10:04 (IST)
8.5 percent voter turnout in the first hour of voting in Gujarat: CNN-News18
10:02 (IST)
Even wedding ceremonies won't stop people from voting...
10:01 (IST)
EVM malfunctioning reported from areas like Surat, Rajkot: Times Now
09:54 (IST)
BJP seeks to mobilise other backward castes to make up for lost votes
With the first phase of polling in Gujarat already in progress, the one issue which is being discussed is the role that the Patel factor may play in the election results. Will the Patel’s unhappiness hurt BJP or will it end up helping the ruling party in the state? Could it be that the Patel discourse may mobilise other castes?
Nimish Bhai Kadiya and Rakesh Bhai Kadiya in Rajkot’s Limda Chowk believe it would.
A mason by profession, Nimish Bhai who belongs to the OBC community says, “The Patel issue is not as big as it’s being played out. Yes, there’s talk, but we have been voting for BJP. It’s not going to make much of a difference.”
Click here to read the full analysis.
09:51 (IST)
Congress leader Indranil Rajyaguru arrives with his family to cast vote
09:47 (IST)
Indranil Rajyaguru, contesting against Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, asks people to vote
09:37 (IST)
Why Yogi Adityanath's speech was crucial
BJP has recognised that it's struggling among farmers, which is why Yogi Adityanath's speech was crucial. Through the speech, he made repeated references to Ayodhya, Italy and Rahul Gandhi's Somnath visit, to polarise the election.
09:32 (IST)
09:23 (IST)
Visuals of Vijay Rupani casting his vote along with family members
09:20 (IST)
Farmers in Amreli particularly angry with Modi
Amreli is predominantly agrarian and the farmers there are particularly angry with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over falling crop prices.
Moreover, cotton, which was sold at Rs 1,200/20 kg three years ago, today sells at Rs 850-900. Meanwhile, the production cost has tripled.
As chief minister, Modi often castigated the then prime minister Manmohan Singh and demanded the prices be raised to Rs 1,500. The main gripe of farmers is that Modi as prime minister has not done anything on this issue himself.
09:13 (IST)
Here are two different opinions from the Patidar community on Hardik Patel:
09:05 (IST)
Visuals of Vijay Rupani casting his vote
09:00 (IST)
Voters in Surat divided over Hardik Patel
08:59 (IST)
Vijay Rupani's family members urge voters to turn out in large numbers
08:56 (IST)
Vijay Rupani's daughter on Gujarat polls:
08:49 (IST)
Vijay Rupani casts his vote
08:43 (IST)
PAAS leader calls Hardik Patel's support for Congress 'fixing'
Hardik Patel's key aide and senior member of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) Dinesh Bambhania on Friday alleged that the quota agitation spearhead's support to the Congress party smacks of some kind of "fixing" between them.
Bambhania said he could not understand why Patel was supporting the Congress party, despite it not clarifying how it would give reservation to the Patidar community if voted to power.
Click here to read the full PTI report.
08:40 (IST)
People in Godhra speak out
08:38 (IST)
Gujarat BJP chief casts his vote
08:36 (IST)
08:28 (IST)
Vijay Rupani arrives at polling booth in Rajkot-West to vote
08:26 (IST)
We will teach BJP a lesson: Voter in north Surat
08:20 (IST)
08:19 (IST)
Visuals of people voting in Rajkot-West:
08:16 (IST)
In some of Ahmedabad's Dalit colonies, people survive without toilets:
08:12 (IST)
Vijay Rupani urgers voters to turn out in large numbers
"Voting will begin for the first phase. There is a lot of enthusiasm. We want people to use this process of democracy and turn out in large numbers," Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said.
"There is no question of any (close) contest," Rupani further said, when asked about what he thought about the contest in the state.
08:10 (IST)
08:06 (IST)
Voting begins for 89 seats in the first phase of Gujarat election 2017
08:04 (IST)
Narendra Modi cashed in on Mani Shankar Aiyar's remark
Narendra Modi wouldn’t let go the issue, which thanks to Aiyar, a motormouth Congress leader and avowed Gandhi-Nehru family loyalist, had fallen in his lap at the most critical time of electioneering in his home state, Gujarat. More so, it had come just ahead of the first phase of polling. It should be noted that in the past 22 years since the time BJP came to power in the state, December 2017 election is perhaps the toughest election the party is facing.
Modi sells high in Gujarat. Sections of people across the state may have a varying degree of resentment against the BJP and but even those (barring hardcore all season Modi critics) who are showing their displeasure and anger against the ruling party, its policies and practices still have a soft corner for the prime minister.
Click here to read the full analysis.
07:57 (IST)
Voting to begin shortly
07:55 (IST)
BJP has turned leaders like Patel, Gandhi into 'product': Rahul Gandhi
BJP has turned leaders such as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Mahatma Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose into "product", Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said on Friday.
Gandhi addressed a campaign meeting in Anand town in central Gujarat which is historically associated with Patel, a stalwart of freedom struggle and the country's first home minister.
Click here to read the full PTI report.
07:45 (IST)
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani will cast his vote here in Rajkot-West at around 8.30 am:
07:23 (IST)
Urging voters to turn out in record numbers: Narendra Modi
07:18 (IST)
Maximum number of candidates contesting are from Jamnagar Rural
07:11 (IST)
Rahul Gandhi during his final campaign before the first phase of polling in Gujarat
07:02 (IST)
8 seats with over 16 candidates
There are eight seats with more than 16 candidates. The maximum of 27 are in Jamnagar Rural seat. There are just three candidates each in Jhagadia and Ganadevi constituencies, both Scheduled Tribe seats.
Wherever there are more than 16 candidates, two ballot units will be put up.
Inputs from PTI
07:00 (IST)
Over two crore voters eligible to vote today
Of the 2,12,31,652 voters, 1,11,05,933 are males and 1,01,25,472 females while 247 are from the third gender.
06:59 (IST)
Polling to take place today for 9 hours
Polling on Saturday will begin at 8 am and end at 5 pm at a total of 24,689 polling booths.
06:56 (IST)
Updates for Saturday, 9 December begin here
22:31 (IST)
The millionaire club: Who has the richest candidates
22:19 (IST)
Polling to begin at 8 am
22:18 (IST)
Poll preparations underway
22:11 (IST)
Minimum candidates contesting from Jhagadia, Ganadevi seats
There are just three candidates each in Jhagadia and Ganadevi constituencies. Both these constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates.
22:10 (IST)
Maximum candidates contesting from Jamnagar Rural
The maximum of 27 are in Jamnagar Rural seat and there are eight seats with more than 16 candidates. Wherever there are more than 16 candidates, two ballot units will be put up.
22:07 (IST)
Mock polls to be conducted at every polling station before actual polling: EC
Amid a host of measures to ensure integrity of EVMs, the Election Commission said that the presiding officers will conduct mock polls at all polling stations with at least 50 votes to ensure that the EVMs are functioning properly. The mock poll exercise will be conducted at least one hour before the actual polling starts.
21:51 (IST)
Dhoraji seat a prestige issue for Hardik Patel
The contest on Dhoraji seat of Gujarat will be a prestige issue for Hardik Patel as one of his key aides, Lalit Vasoya, is contesting from there on Congress' ticket. Vasoya will be taking on veteran BJP leader and former Lok Sabha MP Harilal Patel on this Patel community-dominated Assembly constituency in Rajkot district.
Dhoraji is the only Assembly constituency on which Congress has fielded a leader from Hardik Patel-led PAAS.
21:48 (IST)
21:04 (IST)
Congress promises constitutionally impossible, financially improbable: Jaitley
The BJP on Friday said the Congress poll manifesto in Gujarat promising quota for Patidars and farm debt waiver was "constitutionally impossible" and "financially improbable" and that the party's policy of social polarisation would harm the state.
"One of Congress' poll promises is constitutionally impossible, which is reservation. It cannot go beyond 50 per cent. The Congress vision is based on constitutional impossibility."
The Congress in its manifesto has promised that if it forms the government in the state, it will bring in a special bill to provide quotas for those who are not presently entitled to any reservation and Patidars will get quota under special category. The quota given to OBCs, STs and SCs will not be touched.
20:31 (IST)
Ahead of Gujarat polling, EC seeks to allay fears on EVMs integrity
the Election Commission on Friday sought to allay apprehensions vis-a-vis the integrity of its EVMs by saying that it has put in place "an elaborate framework of system, security protocols and procedural checks" to prevent any "possible misuse" of the voting machines.
Any malfunctioning EVM or VVPAT found during the first level checks were sent to the factories so that the same cannot be used in the election, it said, adding that after the first level checks, the machines are kept in strong room under round the clock security and CCTV coverage.