As many as 833 candidates from 61 parties are in the fray in the second round of Gujarat elections whose fate will be decided by more than 2.51 million voters.
Gujarat Assembly Elections 2022: PM Modi Votes at Nishan Public School, Waves to People on His Way
Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast his vote at a polling station in Ahmedabad during the second round of polls and said that the people of Gujarat listen to everyone but it is in their nature to accept what is true. Prime Minister Modi went to the polling station and greeted voters.
Labeling the march a ‘roadshow’, the Gujarat Congress said it would file a complaint with the EC against Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah for greeting other voters, claiming the ‘roadshow’ was a ‘breach of poll conduct’ “.
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AAP candidate CM Isudan Gadhvi votes
Chief Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Isudan Gadhvi cast his vote in Ahmedabad in the second round of Gujarat assembly elections and said he expected his party to win over 100 seats.
Speaking to the media after casting her vote, Gadhvi appealed to people to get out of their homes and use their voting rights.
“I’m appealing to people to get out there and go to polling stations and vote. Pick whoever you want, but you’ll only be able to ask political leaders for answers if you vote. I expect AAP to win more than 51 out of 89 seats in the first phase and more than 52 places in the second stage,” he said.
The AAP candidate to head the ministry is pitted against BJP candidate Mulu Ayar Bera in the Khambalia assembly building. It is expected to be a three-horse race with Senior Congress Leader Vikram Madam also in the fray.
Isudan Gadhvi belongs to Khambalia. He is a resident of Piplia village and belongs to the backward class. He was a journalist before entering politics.
Prime Minister Modi thanks the voters for celebrating the day of democracy with great fanfare
Prime Minister Modi cast his vote in Gujarat and thanked the people of Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Gujarat for celebrating democracy day with great fanfare.
He also praised the Election Commission of India for conducting the elections peacefully.
Gujarat Assembly Elections 2022: His Majesty Amit Shah reaches polling booth to cast his vote, with son and wife
Prime Minister Modi made the remarks after casting his vote in Ahmedabad’s Nishan Public School in Ranip, where he spoke to reporters for a short time.
Vote in Ahmedabad. Urging all who vote today to turnout in record numbers and vote. https://t.co/m0X16uCtjA
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 1670214184000
“Democracy Day was celebrated with great fanfare by the people of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. I want to thank the people of the country. I also want to congratulate the Election Commission for conducting the election peacefully,” he said Prime Minister Modi.
Prime Minister Modi’s mother Heeraben Modi casts her vote
Prime Minister Modi’s mother Heeraben Modi voted in the second round of the Gujarat Assembly polls. She cast her vote at Raysan Primary School in Gandhinagar.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Modi met his mother Heeraben Modi, at her residence in Gandhinagar. In one photo, PM Modi was seen touching his mother’s feet. PM also had evening tea sitting next to his mother. Prime Minister Narendra Modi last met his mother Heeraben on June 18, on her 100th birthday.
Amit Shah votes in Ahmedabad, urges first-time voters to participate in elections
On Monday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah cast his vote in the second round of Gujarat Assembly polls and appealed to the people, especially first-time voters, to participate in the elections.
Shah along with his family members including his son BCCI Secretary Jay Shah cast his vote at the AMC Sub-zonal office in Naranpura of Ahmedabad.
Amit Shah and his family also offered prayers at a temple in Ahmedabad after casting their vows.
CM Bhupendra Patel, vote by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel cast his vote in the ongoing second stage of state elections and said the BJP would surpass all its old records in the state and emerge victorious. The Chief Minister cast his vote in Shilaj Anupam School, booth number 95 in Ahmedabad.
UP Governor Anandiben Patel also cast her vote for the second stage polls.
Voter turnout in the second round of Gujarat Assembly polls until 9am was 4.75%, according to data from the Election Commission on Monday.
Hardik Patel says BJP will win 150 seats
Gujarat Elections 2022: Hardik Patel Votes At Booth 264 At Chandranagar Primary School
Viramgam BJP candidate Hardik Patel of Gujarat cast his vote for the second round of Assembly polls in the state and said the party would win by a large margin to secure 150 seats.
Patel cast his vote at polling station 264 of Chandranagar Primary School.
Speaking to ANI after the vote, Patel said the model of “security and good governance” would be further strengthened after government is formed in the state.
“The people of Gujarat will vote for development. A model of security and good governance has emerged in the country and in the world. This model will strengthen further in the coming days. Prime Minister Modi says these elections are not normal,” he said.
Congress rolls out bills for change while voting is underway
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi have set out to bring about “parivartan (change)” in Gujarat as they urged voters to exercise their right to vote.
“It is a humble request to all citizens of Gujarat to participate in this ‘parivartan utsav (festival of change)’. Vote today,” Kharge said in a Hindi tweet.
“Congratulations to our young friends voting for the first time,” he said.
BJP uses police and government mechanisms to influence polls, Gujarat Congress chief claims
Gujarat Congress Chief Jagdish Thakor has denounced electoral practices by the ruling BJP in the ongoing Assembly elections and said the party is “influencing the polls” with “the help of the police and government machinery “.
Referring to an attack on Congress candidate Kanti Kharadi, the Gujarat party boss said the party was receiving similar complaints from other candidates as well.
“Congress is winning. Our candidate Kanti Kharadi was attacked last night and was untraceable for 3 hours. We called the EC, reached Gandhinagar at 1.30am and called them to come there. Complaints are also coming in by our other candidates,” he said while speaking to ANI.
He also claimed “atmosphere of fear” in the state and said it shows “the BJP is losing”.
Clash between supporters of Cong, candidates of the BJP for the seat of the Assembly of Danta
Supporters of Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party candidates from the Danta Assembly building in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district were reportedly clashing with each other after a collision between the two leaders’ vehicles, police said on Monday.
No one was injured in the incident which occurred around 10:30 pm on Sunday, Banaskantha (SP) Police Superintendent Akshayraj Makwana told PTI.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in a late night tweet that he claimed tribal leader of the party and candidate for the Danta Kantibhai Kharadi Assembly seat was brutally attacked by BJP goons and then disappeared.
SP Makwana said Kharadi, the incumbent MLA from Danta’s seat, and BJP candidate Latu Parghi had leveled allegations that they were attacked by their respective supporters with deadly weapons after their vehicles collided.
Danta, reserved for candidates from the Scheduled Tribe, is one of 93 seats voting in the second round of state assembly elections on Monday.
26,409 polling stations installed, 36,000 EVMs used
The Election Commission has installed 26,409 voting booths and nearly 36,000 electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used. Approximately 29,000 presidents and more than 84,000 poll workers were deployed to 14 districts to facilitate voting.
According to Gujarat Chief Election Officer P Bharathi, out of a total of 26,409 polling stations, 93 are model polling booths, 93 are ecological booths, another 93 are run by Divyang, and 14 are run by youths. The webcasting will be carried out in 13,319 polling booths in the second phase.
“A total of 2,51,58,730 voters will vote, of whom 1,29,26,501 are men, 1,22,31,335 are women and 894 are of the third sex,” said Bharathi.
The 93 seats assigned to the second phase are distributed among Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Patan, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Aravali, Mahisagar, Panchmahal, Dahod, Vadodara, Anand, That gives and districts of Chhota Udaipur.
Prominent names set to vote in the final round in Gujarat include Prime Minister Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Isudan Gadhvi, Gujarat Congress Speaker Jagdish Thakor and cricketers Irfan Pathan, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya.
The Real Vadodara family, Congress leader and MP Shaktisinh Gohil and former prime minister Shankersinh Vaghela they too will vote on Monday.
During the first phase of the polls on 1 December, Gujarat saw an overall voter turnout of 63.14%. Voting began at 8 am in 89 constituencies spread across 19 districts of Kutch, Saurashtra and South Gujarat regions. The first round of voting for 89 seats in Kutch, Saurashtra and South Gujarat concluded on 1 December, with an overall voter turnout of 63.31%.
The results of the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections will be announced on 8 December.
(With contributions from agencies)
