Ahead of the voting for the second phase of the State Assembly elections on December 5, campaigning ended at 5 p.m. on Saturday. As many as 833 candidates are in the fray across 93 constituencies of north and central Gujarat, which go to the polls in the second phase.
Votes will be counted on December 8, the same day as that of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls.
Read | Low voter turnout in first phase of Gujarat Assembly polls
Around 2.51 crore voters are eligible to vote in these 93 Assembly segments spread across 14 districts of north and central Gujarat. The major cities of Ahmedabad and Vadodara also go to the polls in the second phase.
There are totally 26,409 polling booths in the State.
Prominent candidates in the fray in the second phase include Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel from Ghatlodia; Patidar leader Hardik Patel from Viramgam; Other Backward Class (OBC) leader Alpesh Thakor from Gandhinagar South; Jignesh Mevani from Vadgam; former Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda from Anklav; and Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Sukhram Rathwa from Jetpur Pavi.
Both Mr. Hardik Patel and Mr. Thakor are contesting on a BJP ticket after defecting to the ruling party.
The first phase of voting for 89 seats in Saurashtra, Kutch and south Gujarat was held on December 1 with an average turnout of 63.31%, lower than the last time’s 67.79%.
The main contenders in the elections are the ruling BJP, Congress, and the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The Election Commission of India has deployed 29,000 presiding officers and over 84,000 polling officers in 14 districts, with elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of the polling process.
On the last day of campaigning, the ruling BJP continued its high voltage campaign with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and others, addressing gatherings and holding roadshows.
Opposition party leaders held several rallies and meetings in keeping with their low-key campaign format. From the AAP, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann held roadshows at three places.
The ruling BJP faces its rebels contesting as Independent candidates in Padra, Vaghodia, Dhanera and Bayad.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up his campaign for the BJP with a whirlwind schedule on December 1 and 2, including two back-to-back mega roadshows in Ahmedabad, and seven rallies in the districts that will go for polling on December 5.
