Gujarat local body election 2021 LIVE updates: Voting is underway for 81 municipalities, 31 district panchayats and 231 taluka panchayats in the state
File image of voters queuing up outside a polling booth. PTI
Gujarat local body election 2021 Latest updates: According to reports, Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly Paresh Dhanani arrived to cast his vote on a cycle, carrying a gas cylinder and a sack of compost to register his protest against price rise.
In the first two hours of polling, seven percent turnout was recorded in the taluka panchayats, with Anand having the highest turnout at 8.9 percent and Porbandar the lowest at 6.7 percent, reports News18 Gujarati.
A scuffle broke out between Congress supporters and police at Akhdol in Nadiad taluka of Kheda district, reports News18 Gujarati. Congress supporters took to the roads, chanting slogans against the police.
Polling for 81 municipalities, 31 district panchayats and 231 taluka panchayats in Gujarat will take place on Sunday between 7 am to 6 pm, as per reports. The counting of votes will be held on 2 March, the State Election Commission has said.
The SEC officials said voting for 8,473 seats, comprising 2,720 in 680 wards in municipalities, 980 in district panchayats and 4,773 in taluka panchayats, will take place across 36,008 booths.
Some 3.04 crore people in the state are eligible to vote for these polls, and over 44,000 police personnel, including state reserve police units, 12, CAPF companies and 54,000 home guards, will be in place to ensure incident-free voting, they added.
While the BJP has been the dominant force in the state for several years now, Congress believes the fuel price hikes and disenchantment of the people with the ruling party will help it make a comeback.
The Aam Aadmi Party, with 2,097 contestants, and Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), which has fielded candidates in minority-dominated seats in Godhra, Modasa and Bharuch municipalities, will look to challenge the state's two main parties.
