Gujarat local body polls held peacefully, turnout under 50% in cities; results on April 28
According to the State Election Commission (SEC), turnout in municipal corporations was as low as 48.73 percent.
According to figures on the SEC website, Tapi, Navsari and Morbi civic corporations topped the participation figure with 65.68 per cent, 59.68 per cent and 58.75 per cent respectively, while Vadodara, Surat and Ahmedabad recorded 47.26, 52.83 and 45.59 per cent.
Voting ended at 6 p.m. ET and the data shared by the SEC is provisional. It is likely to change with later updates.
The elections were held in 15 municipal corporations, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats, making it one of the largest election exercises in the state ahead of next year’s assembly elections.
While the municipalities recorded an average turnout of 59.09 percent, Bhabhar and Tharad in the newly formed Vav-Tharad region saw the highest figure at 74.32 percent. Gondal in Rajkot recorded the lowest turnout at 48.51 per cent.
Municipalities in Navsari and Chhota Udepur districts recorded a turnout of 72.56 and 72.04 per cent respectively; This rate was the second and third highest participation rate among all districts. In district and taluka panchayats, voter turnout of 60.9 and 62.04 percent was recorded.
Local bodies in the tribal-dominated districts of Narmada, Dangs and Tapi were among the top three in terms of turnout in both district and taluka panchayats elections.
While Narmada dominated the district panchayat with 80.66 percent turnout and taluka panchayat elections with 80.92 percent turnout, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Amreli and Porbandar districts recorded the lowest turnout.
Officials said the elections were largely peaceful.
While Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel cast their votes in Ahmedabad, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi cast his votes in Surat.
While the India Meteorological Department issued a “yellow” alert and advised people to be careful and take precautions while going out outdoors, high temperatures were recorded in various parts of Gujarat.
A 68-year-old woman died of a heart attack in Patan city after voting at the voting booth, while a 48-year-old gram panchayat peon, who was on election duty in Anand district, fainted and died.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate for the Jamnagar Municipal Corporation elections, Narendrasinh Jadeja, died on Sunday, a day after falling ill, officials said. They said he might have had a heart attack.
Elections were held for the first time in nine newly created municipal corporations, including Navsari, Gandhidham, Morbi, Vapi, Anand, Nadiad, Mehsana, Porbandar and Surendranagar.
The election is important as it remains the biggest electoral exercise ahead of the 2027 parliamentary elections. While the ruling BJP is trying to maintain its strength in most urban and rural bodies, the Congress is hoping for a better performance.
Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is also trying to gain a foothold ahead of the state elections. It had won 27 seats in the Surat municipal elections by getting nearly 14 percent votes in the last local polls.
The elections were held as per the revised norms for Other Backward Class (OBC) reservations, which required extensive delimitation and restructuring of wards in various areas.
If necessary, a new vote can be held on April 27. The counting of votes will take place on April 28 and the entire election process is expected to be completed by April 30.
Besides BJP, Congress and AAP, candidates of Nationalist Congress Party and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) have also entered the fray, leading to multi-corner contests in many places. PTI
