Voting for the second phase of Gujarat polls progressed peacefully in the North and Central Gujarat regions with initial two hours registering overall 11.71 per cent polling on the 93 seats in 14 districts. However, polling had to be halted briefly due to technical snag in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) at several polling stations in Banaskantha, Ahmedabad and Aravalli districts in the initial hours of polling.
The polling was slow during the initial hours in urban pockets of Ahmedabad and Vadodara. However, in the rural areas, enthusiasm was seen as voters queued up to cast their votes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to cast his vote in Ranip area of Ahmedabad by noon. Earlier in the day, BJP chief Amit Shah cast his vote in Naranpura, deputy chief minister Nitin Patel and former chief minister Anandiben Patel also exercised their voting rights besides Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
A total 2.22 crore voters will exercise their franchise to elect from 851 candidates including 61 females. The BJP has fielded candidates on all the seats, the Congress has 91 candidates, followed by 75 from Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) among others.
The first phase of voting was held on December 9 covering 89 seats of the 182-assembly. The election is being seen as a “prestige battle” for Prime Minister Modi and a litmus test for the leadership of Congress President-elect Rahul Gandhi.
In 2012, the BJP had won 52 seats out of the total 93 going to the polls. The Congress currently has 39 seats and one each with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and an independent. The voter turnout in 2012 for North Gujarat was 75 per cent, while Central Gujarat had 72 per cent.