Gujarat Polls: First phase voting for 89 seats underway

The first phase of the Gujarat Assembly election began at 8 a.m. on Thursday, December 1, amid tight security.
Over 2 crore voters will decide the fate of political parties today, with 89 constituencies in 19 districts across Kutch, Saurashtra, and South Gujarat going to the polls.

A total of 2,39,76,670 voters will cast ballots by 5 p.m. today to decide the fate of 788 candidates in the first phase.
There are 1,24,33,362 male electors, 1,15,42,811 female electors, and 497 third-gender electors out of the total number of electors. Over 4 lakh voters with disabilities are eligible to vote.

Nearly 9.8 lakh senior citizens (80 and up) and nearly 10,000 voters (100 and up) are eligible to vote.
According to the EC, there are 5,74,560 voters between the ages of 18 and 19, and 4,945 voters over the age of 99. There are 163 NRI voters, 125 of whom are men and 38 of whom are women.
There are 14,382 polling places, with 3,311 in urban areas and 11,071 in rural areas.

During the first phase of voting, 13,065 polling booths in 19 districts will be live webcast. The Chief Electoral Officer has set up a state-level monitoring room in Gandhinagar. According to the EC, there will be continuous observation from 6.30 a.m. until the voting process is completed.

The entire arrangement has been made in accordance with the Election Commission's instructions. Voting will take place at a total of 25,430 polling stations in the first phase. A total of 13,065 polling places will be webcast live.
The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Gandhinagar, has established a State Level Monitoring Room at Vidya Samiksha Kendra in Gandhinagar, from which all 13,065 polling stations will be closely monitored. Before polling begins at 8:00 a.m., 42 staff/officers in this monitoring room will continuously monitor the webcasting of polling stations. From this state-level monitoring room, up to six senior officials will monitor the voting process via webcast. Continuous monitoring will begin at 6.30 a.m. and will continue until the voting process is completed.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah campaigned in the state as the BJP seeks a record seventh term.

BJP President JP Nadda, Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, and Goa, as well as Union Ministers Smriti Irani, Mansukh Mandaviya, Parshottam Rupala, Ravishankar Prasad, Piyush Goyal, and Nitin Gadkari, campaigned during the first phase of elections.

Tejasvi Surya, president of the BJP Yuva Morcha, and leaders Manoj Tiwari and Ravi Kishan also held rallies to rally support for the party's candidates.

The party's prominent campaigners included Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Rahul Gandhi, the party's leader, spoke at two rallies in the state.

Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi and AAP convenor, and Bhagwant Mann, the chief minister of Punjab, both engaged in substantial campaigning in the region and made a number of pledges.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel is running from Ghatlodia, while AAP candidate for chief minister Isudan Gadhvi is running from Khambhaliya, former Congressman Hardik Patel is running for BJP in Viramgam, and former Congressman Alpesh Thakor is running for BJP in Gandhinagar South.

Gopal Italia, the state president of the AAP, is running in the Katargam district, along with Harsh Sanghavi, the state's home minister for Gujarat, Rivaba Jadeja, Rivaba Jadeja of Jamnagar North, Parshottam Solanki of Bhavnagar Rural, Kunwarji Bavaliya of Jasdan, Kantilal Amrutiya of Morbi, and Jayes Madhu Shrivastav On December 8, the votes will be tallied. On the same day, the results of the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections will also be announced.