Yahoo Finance Gujarat civic polls: BJP sweeps Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot; Congress routed
Celebrations have begun in Gujarat with the Bharatiya Janata Party sweeping the municipal elections in Vadodara, Rajkot and Jamnagar, according to reports.
The BJP put in a winning performance in elections to six municipal corporations of Gujarat, winning Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Rajkot and Surat. In Surat, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) trumped Congress with 25 seats, with the latter failing to open its account.
The counting of votes was held today for 192 seats across 48 wards in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, for 120 seats across 30 wards in the Surat Municipal Corporation, 76 seats across 19 wards of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, for 72 seats across 18 wards in the Rajkot Municipal Corporation, 52 seats across 13 wards in the Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation and 64 seats across 16 wards in the Jamnagar Municipal Corporation.
An average 46.1 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the elections to six municipal corporations in Gujarat, officials said on Monday. Polling was held from 7 am to 6 pm on Sunday for a total of 144 wards across six civic bodies - Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar.
As per the final figures shared by the SEC of Sunday's polling, Ahmedabad had the lowest turnout of 42.5 per cent, while Jamnagar recorded the highest turnout of 53.4 per cent. Besides, Rajkot recorded 50.7 per cent polling, Bhavnagar-49.5 per cent, Vadodara-47.8 per cent and Surat- 47.1 per cent. Of the total 1.14 crore voters registered in these six cities, 52.83 lakh cast their votes on Sunday, the release said.
The voting continued till 5 pm. In the morning, elderly voters were also seen at various booths, where precautions have been taken to follow COVID-19 prevention norms, including use of masks and sanitisers and maintaining social distance.
Around 32,000 policemen were deployed for voting in 575 seats, with each ward having four corporators, officials said.
A total of 2,276 candidates are contesting the polls in the six municipal corporations. Besides, nine candidates are also in the fray for by-elections to two seats in the Junagadh Municipal Corporation.
The municipal corporation elections are being seen as a test for Rupani as it may set the tone for the state Assembly polls due next year. As per the State Election Commission, there are a total of 1.14 crore voters, including 60.60 lakh men and 54.06 lakh women. Inputs: News18, PTI and ANI
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