Gujarat Assembly elections 2022 live updates | Voting begins for first phase; 89 seats up for grabs

Voting will be held between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on December 1, 2022, across 14,382 polling stations,

Gujarat started voting on December 1, 2022, in the first phase of the Assembly polls in 89 Assembly constituencies, spread across 19 districts in Saurashtra-Kutch and the southern parts of the State, with 788 candidates in the fray.

Out of the 4.91 crore registered voters in Gujarat, 2.4 crore are eligible to cast their votes in the first phase of the elections. These include 5.74 lakh voters in the age group of 18-19 years, and 4,945 above the age of 99 years, the office of the State CEO said.

Amid allegations and counter-allegations, a long-drawn campaign by the ruling BJP, the Congress, and the Aam Aadmi Party, the newest entrant in the political arena in the State, ended in what appears to be a dull election season compared with 2017, when the election was held in the backdrop of two massive agitations by the Patidars and OBCs, respectively, across the State.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has ruled Gujarat for 27 years, is trying to retain power in the State for the seventh term in a row. If it succeeds, it will equal the record of the Left Front government which won the West Bengal elections for seven consecutive terms till 2011.

This time, the BJP faces competition not just from its traditional rival Congress but also the new poll entrant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has tried to position itself as the main challenger of the ruling party.

The BJP and the Congress are contesting in all 89 seats.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is contesting in 88 seats. Its candidate from Surat East constituency had withdrawn his candidature, leaving the party with one less seat to contest in the first phase.