Gujarat Election 2022: 34.71% voter turnout till 1 pm

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Aam Aadmi Party chief ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi, and state Assembly Leader Sukhram Rathva were among those who voted.

The Election Commission reported an average of 34.74 per cent voter turnout in the second round of the Gujarat Assembly elections, which included 93 seats across 14 districts in the north and central regions, until 1:00 pm on Monday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Aam Aadmi Party chief ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi, and state Assembly Leader Sukhram Rathva were among those who voted.

Sabarkantha district had the highest turnout, at 39.73 per cent, till 1:00 pm, followed by Chhota Udepur, at 38.18 per cent.

The voter turnout in the Ahmedabad district was 30.82 per cent as of 1:00 pm. According to an Election Commission update, it was 34.07 per cent in Vadodara.

According to the poll body, 41 ballot units, 40 control units, and 109 voter-verifiable paper audit trails (VVPATs) were replaced due to malfunctioning in the first three hours.

In the second phase, the fate of CM Bhupendra Patel and 832 other candidates, including 285 independent nominees, will be decided. Voting commenced at 8:00 am across 14,975 polling stations.

All 93 seats are being contested by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The Congress is contesting for 90 seats, and its alliance, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is running two candidates.

The Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) has fielded 12 candidates, while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded 44.

Voting in the 93 Assembly seats spread over 14 districts, including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Gandhinagar, is underway.

The ruling BJP won 51 seats in the 2017 Assembly elections, the Congress 39, and three seats went to independent candidates.

The BJP received 37 seats in central Gujarat, outnumbering the Congress, which received 22. However, in north Gujarat, the Congress won 17 seats to the saffron party's 14.