High-decibel campaign for Guj polls’ Phase 2 concludes

The Election Commission will deploy 29,000 presiding officers and over 84,000 polling officers in 14 districts, said an official release.

A high-decibel campaign for the second phase of Gujarat assembly polls ended on Saturday evening with leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) reaching out to voters through rallies, roadshows and public meetings.

Polling will be held at 26,409 booths and nearly 36,000 Electronic Voting Machines will be used. (ANI)

Voting for 93 out of 182 seats will be held on December 5. A total of 833 candidates are in the fray for these seats across 14 districts of central Gujarat, including Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Gandhinagar. Polling for 80 seats took place on December 1, in the first phase of voting that recorded 63.31% turnout. The results are set to be declared on December 8.

Polling will be held at 26,409 booths and nearly 36,000 Electronic Voting Machines will be used. The Election Commission will deploy 29,000 presiding officers and over 84,000 polling officers in 14 districts, said an official release.

Prominent candidates in the second phase include chief minister Bhupendra Patel from Ghatlodia, Patidar leader Hardik Patel from Viramgam and OBC leader Alpesh Thakor from Gandhinagar South. Both Hardik Patel and Thakor are contesting on BJP ticket. Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani who contested as an independent in 2017 and won from Vadgam seat is contesting from here on Congress ticket this time.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has held more than 35 rallies in the state since the election dates were announced on November 3, took out two back-to-back roadshows in Ahmedabad on December 1 and 2, including one 50-km roadshow that covered 14 of 16 constituencies in Ahmedabad, and one in Gandhinagar (south).

Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Smriti Irani and BJP president J P Nadda also campaigned for the ruling party in the second phase.

On Saturday, several prominent leaders, including BJP’s Yogi Adityanath, and AAP’s Bhagwant Mann held rallies and roadshows across the 14 districts.

Addressing a rally in Khambhat, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath asked people to make Gujarat “Congress mukt”.

Asserting that the temples in India have got a fresh lease of life under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said: “The Congress could not do this. As a result, in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections this year - a state with 25 crore population and 403 assembly seats – the Congress managed to get only two seats...Mahatma Gandhi said in 1947 that the Congress should be dissolved. Let’s make Gujarat free of Congress and all problems will be solved. The Aam Aadmi Party won zero seats in UP...These parties pose a maximum threat to the security of the country and are a hurdle in India’s development journey.”

In 2017, the BJP won 48 out of 89 seats in the first phase polling and bagged 51 in the second phase, taking its total tally to 99 out of 182 assembly seats. The Congress won 39 in the first phase and 38 in the second phase of elections in 2017.

Talking to reporters at Thara in Kankrej assembly constituency, Gujarat Congress president Jagdish Thakor said the party is hopeful of winning with 125 seats. He said there were speculations in some social media groups about Congress announcing a chief ministerial candidate with OBC background but the party has made no such announcement. “Although it’s only appropriate that people who are in majority can get appropriate representation in the government. This is the beauty of democracy,” he said.

AAP leader Bhagwant Mann took out roadshows at Garbada, Dahod, Jhalod and Fatepura.

Mann said, “This time we want AAP to break all the records in Gujarat and form a government with full majority. BJP people say we are the B team of Congress and Congress people say we are the B team of BJP but I would like to say that we are A team of 6 crore people of Gujarat.”