After the high-voltage campaigning, voting for 93 of Gujarat's 182 assembly seats will be held today, in the second and final phase of polling, deciding the fate of the 833 candidates.
There has been a tough battle among the political parties including Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party for making poll promises as the fate of the political parties will be decided by over 2.51 crore electorates.
Polling in the second and final phase will be conducted for 93 Assembly constituencies across 14 districts of north and central Gujarat. As many as 833 candidates from 61 parties are in the fray in the second phase of the state assembly elections.
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.
Among the key constituencies in the final phase are Ghatlodia, which will determine the poll fate of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel; Viramgam where Patidar leader Hardik Patel will contest as a BJP candidate, and Gandhinagar South where the saffron party has fielded Alpesh Thakor.
The Leader of the Opposition, Congress' Sukhram Rathava will contest from Chhota Udaipur, while Lakhabhai Bharwad, Jignesh Mevani and Amee Yajnik are some other prominent Congress names from Viramgam, Vadgam and Ghatlodia seats.
From the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharat Vakhala from Devgadhbaria, Bheema Chaudhary from Deodar, Dolat Patel from Gandhinagar South, Kunwarji Thakor from Viramgam and Vijay Patel from Ghatlodia will test their electoral fortunes in the second phase.
The high-octane campaigning for the second phase 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 held his last election rally in his native state, at Ahmedabad, on Friday, which was followed by roadshows, over consecutive days on December 1 and 2.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, too, concluded his campaigning for the final phase on Friday, with three public rallies in Mehsana, two public meetings in Ahmedabad and a roadshow in Vadodara.
Also, on the last day of the campaign for the second phase, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed poll rallies in Dholka, Mahudha and Khambhat to garner support for BJP candidates, while Union Minister Parshottam Rupala campaigned at Banaskantha, Chhota Udaipur and Anand. His Union Cabinet colleague Smriti Irani also held two roadshows in the state.
From the Congress, Shaktisinh Gohil held rallies at Deodar, Tharad and Modasa on the last day, while cricketer-turned-politician and ex-Congress MP Mohd. Azharuddin held three road shows at Vejalpur, Jamalpur Khadia and Dariyapur in Ahmedabad.
Among AAP leaders who campaigned on the last day were Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who held four roadshows in Garbada, Dahod, Zalod and Fatehpura. The party's CM face for Gujarat, Isudan Gadhvi, also held roadshows at Sidhpur, Kankrej, Dhanera and Vav on the last day.
During the first phase of polling on December 1, Gujarat saw an overall turnout of 63.14 per cent. The voting began at 8 am in 89 constituencies spread across 19 districts of Kutch, Saurashtra and South Gujarat regions.
The first phase of voting for 89 seats in Kutch, Saurashtra and South Gujarat ended on December 1, with an overall turnout of 63.31 per cent.
The results of the Gujarat Assembly polls will be announced on December 8.
( With inputs from ANI )
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