Ahmedabad, Apr 25 (PTI) Multi-cornered contests among the BJP, Congress, and AAP will play out in elections to local and civic bodies, being dubbed a mini-assembly contest, in Gujarat on Sunday, while the AIMIM is hoping to queer the pitch of traditional players.
For the BJP, the challenge lies in retaining its political dominance of around three decades in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
Voting will begin at 7 am and conclude at 6 pm. If required, re-polling will be held the next day, and votes will be counted on April 28.
As many as 9,992 local representatives are in the fray in 15 municipal corporations, including Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats, with more than 4.18 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise.
The polls are being held under revised norms for Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservations, and required extensive delimitation and restructuring of wards in several districts.
Political observers believe that the electoral outcome will indicate the mood of voters in the state, a crucial pointer ahead of the 2027 assembly elections.
The campaigning was marked by rallies, roadshows and door-to-door visits.
Civic issues such as road conditions and drinking water supply dominated the campaign, while leaders also raised broader issues, including women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
While politics in Gujarat has been traditionally dominated by the BJP and Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party is attempting to expand its footprint.
The AAP had taken the lead over other parties in launching the campaign, with its national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann addressing several rallies across Gujarat.
In a first for AAP, the Kejriwal-led party is contesting on around 5,000 seats in local polls.
Other contestants include the Nationalist Congress Party, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), and Independents.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi campaigned in the final phase, addressing public meetings in Ahmedabad and Bhuj.
For the BJP, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel campaigned extensively.
Among notable candidates are former Gujarat-cadre IPS officer M L Ninama, ex-radio jockey Abha Desai, and former AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani.
Ninama will contest from the Odh seat in Shamlaji taluka for the Arvalli district panchayat elections, while Bhayani has been nominated by the BJP from the Bhesan seat of the Junagadh district panchayat.
Desai, popularly known as RJ Abha, is contesting as a Congress candidate from ward number 10 of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation.
In March 2021, the BJP scored a landslide once again in local polls in Gujarat, winning 6,236 out of 8,470 seats across various municipalities and establishing a wide gap with rival Congress.
The BJP had then dominated all six municipal corporations, besides 81 municipalities, 32 district panchayats, and 231 taluka panchayats.
Notably, elections will also be held for the first time in nine newly-created municipal corporations, including Navsari, Gandhidham, Morbi, Vapi, Anand, Nadiad, Mehsana, Porbandar and Surendranagar.
Senior BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, are scheduled to cast their votes on Sunday. Shah will vote at the Naranpura sub-zonal office in Ahmedabad at 11 am, while CM Bhupendra Patel will cast his vote at Shilaj Primary School.
State BJP president Jagdish Vishwakarma and Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghvi will exercise their franchise at polling stations in Ahmedabad and Surat, respectively.
Ahead of polling, Patel appealed to voters to ensure a “100 per cent turnout”, calling the elections a “sacred festival of democracy”.
He urged citizens to exercise their franchise without fail and motivate others to participate, saying each and every vote is vital to the development of villages, talukas, districts, and cities.
Meanwhile, a three-tier security is in place for the elections, aided by CCTV surveillance and deployment of special squads in sensitive areas.
Director General of Police KLN Rao said the security covers around 29,000 polling buildings and over 49,000 polling stations. Booths are classified as sensitive, hyper-sensitive and normal based on standard operating procedures.
Local police will be accompanied by armed cops, State Reserve Police, Central forces, Home Guards, Gram Rakshak Dal (GRD), and Sagar Rakshak Dal (SRD). PTI PJT PD NSK
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