Ahmedabad, Apr 26 (PTI) Voting for local body polls across Gujarat on Sunday was largely peaceful, with urban areas recording a turnout of under 50 per cent, while voters in tribal areas braved scorching heat to vote in large numbers.
According to the State Election Commission (SEC), municipal corporations saw a tepid 48.73 per cent turnout.
While Tapi, Navsari and Morbi civic corporations topped the turnout tally at 65.68 per cent, 59.68 per cent and 58.75 per cent, respectively, Vadodara, Surat and Ahmedabad recorded 47.26, 52.83, and 45.59 per cent, figures on SEC website showed.
Voting concluded at 6 pm, and the data shared by the SEC is provisional. It is likely to change with further updates.
The elections were held across 15 municipal corporations, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats, making it one of the largest electoral exercises in the state ahead of the assembly polls due later next year.
Municipalities recorded an average turnout of 59.09 per cent, with Bhabhar and Tharad in the newly formed Vav-Tharad district seeing the highest figure of 74.32 per cent. Gondal in Rajkot recorded the lowest turnout of 48.51 per cent.
Municipalities in Navsari and Chhota Udepur districts recorded turnouts of 72.56 and 72.04 per cent, respectively, the second and third highest among all districts, showed the data.
District and taluka panchayats recorded 60.9 and 62.04 per cent voter turnouts.
Local bodies in tribal-dominated districts of Narmada, Dangs and Tapi were among the top three in terms of turnouts in both the district and taluka panchayats elections.
Narmada dominated with a turnout of 80.66 per cent in district panchayat and 80.92 per cent in taluka panchayat elections, while Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Amreli and Porbandar districts recorded the lowest turnouts.
Officials said the elections were largely peaceful.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel cast their votes in Ahmedabad, while Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi voted in Surat.
Several areas across Gujarat recorded high temperatures, with the India Meteorological Department issuing a “yellow” alert and advising people to stay alert and take precautions while venturing outdoors.
While a 68-year-old woman died of cardiac arrest after casting her vote at a polling booth in Patan city, a 48-year-old gram panchayat peon on election duty collapsed and died in Anand district.
Narendrasinh Jadeja, an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate for the Jamnagar Municipal Corporation elections, died on Sunday, a day after he took ill, said officials. He might have suffered a heart attack, they said.
Elections were held for the first time in nine newly-created municipal corporations, including Navsari, Gandhidham, Morbi, Vapi, Anand, Nadiad, Mehsana, Porbandar and Surendranagar.
The election assumes significance as it remains the largest electoral exercise ahead of the 2027 assembly elections. While the ruling BJP seeks to maintain power in most urban and rural bodies, Congress is hoping for a better performance.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is also seeking to set a foothold ahead of the state elections. In the last local body polls, it had received around 14 per cent votes, winning 27 seats in Surat municipal corporation elections.
The polls were held under revised norms for Other Backward Class (OBC) reservations, which required extensive delimitation and restructuring of wards in several districts.
If required, repolling will be held on April 27. Counting of votes will take place on April 28, and the entire election process is expected to be completed by April 30.
Besides the BJP, Congress and AAP, candidates of the Nationalist Congress Party and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) were also in the fray, leading to multi-cornered contests in several places. PTI KA PD GK ARU NSK NR
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