Guwahati: Today’s second and last round of voting will determine the destiny of the 833 contestants after the intense campaigning for 93 of Gujarat’s 182 assembly seats.
Political parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party have fought hard to keep their election pledges because more than 2.51 crore voters will decide their future.
In 14 districts in north and central Gujarat, there will be voting in the second and final phase for 93 Assembly constituencies. In the second round of voting for the state assembly, 833 candidates representing 61 parties are running.
The 93 poll-bound seats in the second phase are spread across Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Patan, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Aravali, Mahisagar, Panchmahal, Dahod, Vadodara, Anand, Kheda and Chhota Udaipur districts.
The outcome of the election for Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will depend on the results in Ghatlodia, Viramgam where Patidar leader Hardik Patel will run as a BJP candidate and Gandhinagar South where the saffron party has put Alpesh Thakor on the ballot.
Sukhram Rathava, the leader of the opposition and a member of the Congress will run from Chhota Udaipur. Other well-known Congress candidates are running from the Viramgam, Vadgam and Ghatlodia seats.
Bharat Vakhala from Devgadhbaria, Bheema Chaudhary from Deodar, Dolat Patel from Gandhinagar South, Kunwarji Thakor from Viramgam and Vijay Patel from Ghatlodia are all members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) who will be testing their electoral luck in the second round.
The intense campaigning for the second round of the Gujarat Assembly elections came to an end on Saturday evening which saw big shots across parties trying to woo voters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted his final electoral rally in his home state of Ahmedabad on Friday. On December 1 and 2, roadshows were held in succession.
The Union Home Minister Amit Shah too wrapped off his final phase of campaigning on Friday with three public rallies in Mehsana, two public gatherings in Ahmedabad and a roadshow in Vadodara.
The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath spoke at rallies to promote BJP candidates on the final day of the second phase of voting in Dholka, Mahudha and Khambhat, while union minister Parshottam Rupala campaigned in Banaskantha, Chhota Udaipur and Anand. His Union Cabinet colleague Smriti Irani also held two roadshows in the state.
On the final day, Congress organised rallies in Deodar, Tharad and Modasa, while ex-Congress Member Mohd. Azharuddin, a former cricketer-turned-politician held three road shows in Ahmedabad in Vejalpur, Jamalpur Khadia and Dariyapur.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann held four roadshows at Garbada, Dahod, Zalod and Fatehpura on the final day of the campaign. On the final day, Isudan Gadhvi, the party’s nominee for Gujarat’s CM also performed roadshows in Sidhpur, Kankrej, Dhanera and Vav.
An total turnout of 63.14 percent was recorded in Gujarat during the first round of voting on December 1. In 89 constituencies distributed across 19 districts in the Kutch, Saurashtra and South Gujarat regions, voting got underway at 8 am.
The first round of voting for 89 seats in Kutch, Saurashtra and South Gujarat ended on December 1 with a 63.31 percent turnout overall.
The results of the Gujarat Assembly polls will be announced on December 8.