Gujarat polls: 68.70 per cent voting recorded in 2nd phase

Ahmedabad, December 14

Gujarat recorded an estimated 68.70 per cent voter turnout in the second and final phase of polling for 93 Assembly seats on Thursday, the Election Commission said.

The figure is likely to go up as details are still being worked out, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha told reporters here.

Voting ended in 93 Assembly seats in north and central Gujarat in the second and final phase of polling on Thursday during which Prime Minister Narendra Modi also cast his ballot.

Those in queue at polling stations would be allowed to vote even after the closure of polls, state Election Commission officials said.

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While the polling was largely peaceful, two incidents of clashes were reported in Mehsana and Vadodara districts, police officials said.

The EC received complaints from five places that electronic voting machines (EVMs) were connecting to external devices via bluetooth, but after inquiry, it was found that there was “no substance” in the complaints, poll officials said.

“An estimated 47.40 per cent voting has been recorded till 2 pm. While Sabarkantha district recorded the highest voter turnout of 56 per cent, the lowest polling of 41.23 per cent was recorded in Chotta Udaipur district,” they said.

Complaints of EVMs getting connected to the external devices via bluetooth were received from Patan, Kheda, Mehsana districts, Ghatlodia in Ahmedabad district and Godhra in Panchamahal district.

On Saturday, during the first phase of the Assembly polls, the Congress had complained that some EVMs in Porbandar were connecting to external devices via bluetooth.

However, the EC had said that the apprehension of possible EVM tampering through bluetooth technology was baseless.

The EC today said there were reports of malfunctioning of EVMs and voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) at some places in Aravalli and Panchmahal districts.

Giving details of the two clashes, a police officer said at least three persons were injured in the first incident at Hasanpur village of Visnagar taluka in Mehsana, where workers of two different parties came to blows.

“The situation was under control and the polling process was not affected,” Mehsana Superintendent of Police (SP) Chaitanya Mandlik said.

Another incident took place at Wankaner village of Savli taluka of Vadodara district, where some villagers got into a scuffle, the officials said.

Despite the morning chill, people could be seen queuing up outside the polling booths even before voting began at 8 am.

The prime minister cast his ballot after waiting in a queue at a polling booth in a school in Sabarmati constituency of Ahmedabad district.

After casting the vote at Nishan High School, he showed his inked finger to thousands of supporters who had gathered outside the school in Ranip locality of Sabaramati constituency, amid chants of “Modi, Modi”.

He walked a certain distance to greet the people standing on both sides of the road outside the polling booth. Later, he stood on the foot-board of his car and waved to the crowd.

However, the Congress alleged that Modi’s road show was violation of the model code of conduct and accused the EC of bias.

Apart from Modi, veteran BJP leader LK Advani, BJP president Amit Shah, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, state Congress president Bharat Solanki and Patidar leader Hardik Patel were among those who cast their ballot.

Around 2.22 crore voters were eligible to exercise their franchise to choose between the two main contenders—the BJP and the Congress—in the state which witnessed an acrimonious campaign.

A total of 851 candidates were in the fray for the second phase.

The first phase of voting for the 182-member House, held on December 9, covered 89 seats.

The election is being seen as a “prestige battle” for the prime minister and a litmus test for the leadership of Congress president-elect Rahul Gandhi.

In the 2012 Assembly polls, the BJP had won 115 seats while the Congress bagged 61. The votes will be counted on December 18. — PTI