India News | Guj: Local Bodies Polls End Peacefully, Voter Turnout Tepid

Ahmedabad, Oct 3 (PTI) Voting for polls in Gandhinagar municipal corporation and three municipalities as well as bypolls to different seats in Ahmedabad and Junagadh civic bodies and various district and taluka panchayats concluded on Sunday, officials said.

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The participation was low, with only Thara municipality recording over 60 per cent turnout, as per the update posted on the website of the state election commission.

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Till 6 pm, 53.14 percent voter turnout was recorded across 44 seats in Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation for which a total 161 candidates are in the fray, with the BJP and Congress contesting from all places and AAP from 40.

Voter turnout in three municipalities of Okha and Bhanvad (in Devbhumi Dwarka district) and Thara (in Banaskantha district) stood at 55.07, 57.11, and 63 per cent, respectively, officials said.

Polling went off peacefully across 78 seats in these three municipalities for which 205 candidates are in the fray, including 78 from BJP, 72 from Congress, 52 from AAP, etc, an official said.

The response of voters for by-elections to one ward in Ahmedabad and two in Junagadh remained poor, with turnout being 21.95 and 45.71 per cent respectively.

Hiraba, the nonagenarian mother of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also exercised her franchise in a ward in Raysan in Gandhinagar.

Meanwhile, AAP candidates for ward number 9 in Gandhinagar registered a complaint with the presiding officer alleging BJP workers vandalised the chairs and tables set up by the Arvind Kejriwal-led party.

The polls are being held close to a change of guard in the state, with Bhupendra Patel taking over as chief minister from Vijay Rupani, under whom the ruling BJP had performed very well in local body polls in February.

The BJP had won all six municipal corporations and a majority of the municipalities, district and taluka panchayat bodies in February.

Voting was also held for bypolls to 42 seats in 26 municipalities, eight seats in seven district panchayats, and 43 seats in 37 taluka panchayats, which were vacant since the March elections.

The fate of 24 candidates in the district panchayat bodies and 123 candidates in taluka panchayats will now be known on October 5.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)