Low voter turnout in first phase of Gujarat Assembly polls

Provisional turnout of voters in the first phase was only 59%, in comparison to 65% turnout in the same districts in the 2017 polls, with several Saurashtra districts recording low voting rates

A low turnout marked the first phase of voting in the Gujarat Assembly elections, with the 89 seats in Saurashtra and south Gujarat which went to the polls on Thursday registering a provisional turnout of around 59%. In the 2017 elections, more than 65% turnout was registered in these districts. 

Barring a few minor incidents and some reports of problems in the electronic voting machines, the voting process, which commenced at 8 a.m., largely remained peaceful. According to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), voting halted in a few places due to the malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines as well as control units and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs). The faulty units were replaced and the process resumed. 

In Saurashtra districts such as Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh and Bhavnagar, the turnout remained low compared to the last Assembly polls. 

According to the Election Commission, the voter turnout figure was provisional as data from some polling stations had not yet been received. It also did not include postal ballots, the Election Commission said. 

Tapi district in South Gujarat recorded the highest provisional voting turnout of 72.32%. The tribal-dominated district comprises the two Assembly constituencies of Vyara and Nizar. With 68.09% turnout, Narmada district stood second.

Voting continued till 5 p.m. across 14,382 polling stations. As many as 788 candidates are in the fray in the first phase of the polls, of which 339 are independent candidates and 70 are women, including nine fielded by the BJP, six by the Congress, and five by the AAP.

Of the total 182 assembly seats in Gujarat, voting was held in 89 seats across 19 districts of Saurashtra-Kutch and southern regions in the first phase. Voting for the remaining 93 seats will be held on December 5. The results will be announced on December 8.