Polling was held from 7 am to six pm on Sunday for a complete of 144 wards throughout six civic our bodies amid tight safety and following COVID-19 norms.
Representational Picture. UKTN
The counting of votes for 575 seats in six municipal firms of Gujarat, polling for which befell on Sunday, will likely be held right this moment (Tuesday, 23 February).
The counting of votes will likely be held for 192 seats throughout 48 wards within the Ahmedabad Municipal Company, for 120 seats throughout 30 wards within the Surat Municipal Company, 76 seats throughout 19 wards of the Vadodara Municipal Company, for 72 seats throughout 18 wards within the Rajkot Municipal Company, 52 seats throughout 13 wards within the Bhavnagar Municipal Company and 64 seats throughout 16 wards within the Jamnagar Municipal Company.
The State Election Fee in launch on Monday mentioned that a mean voter turnout of 46.1 p.c was recorded within the elections to 6 municipal firms, with 52.83 lakh of the 1.41 crore registered voters exercising their franchise on Sunday. Throughout the 2015 polls to those six civic our bodies, 45.81 p.c of the voters had forged their votes, the discharge mentioned.
As per the ultimate figures shared by the SEC, Ahmedabad had the bottom turnout of 42.5 p.c, whereas Jamnagar recorded the best turnout of 53.4 p.c. Moreover, Rajkot recorded 50.7 p.c polling, Bhavnagar-49.5 p.c, Vadodara-47.8 p.c and Surat- 47.1 p.c.
Polling was held from 7 am to six pm on Sunday for a complete of 144 wards throughout six civic our bodies amid tight safety and following COVID-19
norms. High leaders of the BJP, together with Union Dwelling Minister Amit Shah, BJP MP Kirit Solanki, celebration MLA Rakesh Shah and Gujarat celebration chief CR Paatil, forged their votes on Sunday. In keeping with experiences, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani additionally forged his vote in Rajkot, hours after testing unfavourable for COVID-19 .
After exercising his franchise at a polling sales space in Naranpura sub-divisional workplace of the Ahmedabad Municipal Company, Shah expressed confidence that the BJP will win the municipal elections.
“The BJP has emerged victorious throughout the nation underneath the management of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I’m positive that Gujarat, from the place the BJP’s victory journey began, will once more set up itself as a stronghold of the BJP,” Shah mentioned.
“I’m positive that voters will prove in giant numbers and growth will win,” he additional mentioned.
In keeping with UK Time News, State Election Commissioner Sanjay Prasad mentioned that polling befell peacefully, with none main untoward incident.
Nonetheless, the Gujarat Congress lodged 9 complaints with the SEC about alleged discrepancies in voters’ record, alleged makes an attempt to intimidate voters, and alleged defective EVM machines in Ahmedabad civic polls, mentioned the report. The Congress, claiming violation of ballot pointers, additionally submitted a grievance towards Rupani for flying into Rajkot with a helicopter to forged his vote, based on the report.
 The civic physique elections are being seen as a take a look at for the Rupani authorities as it might set the tone for the Meeting polls slated for subsequent 12 months.
The principle contest is between the BJP, which has dominated the six firms for final a number of phrases, and the primary Opposition Congress. Throughout the ballot marketing campaign, the BJP performed the “growth” card, whereas the Congress, which has been out of energy in these native our bodies for a very long time now, cited the “lack of facilities” and the current gas value hike to show the tide.
The Aam Aadmi Social gathering (AAP) has claimed it could be an efficient different to the BJP and Congress, whereas Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is making its debut within the native our bodies polls, having fielded 21 candidates in six wards of Ahmedabad.
A complete of two,276 candidates, comprising 577 from the BJP, 566 from the Congress, 470 from AAP, 91 from NCP, 353 from different events, and 228 Independents, contested the elections.
Moreover, 9 candidates have been additionally within the fray for by-elections to 2 seats within the Junagadh Municipal Company. After the outcomes are introduced right this moment, elections to 31 district and 231 taluka panchayats and 81 municipalities will likely be held on 28 February.
With inputs from PTI
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