Ahmedabad, Apr 11 (PTI) Candidates scrambled to file their papers on the last day of filing nominations for the April 26 local body elections in Gujarat where the contest is mainly expected between the BJP, Congress and the AAP.
As per the schedule announced by the State Election Commission, scrutiny of nominations will take place on April 13 and candidates can withdraw from the race till April 15.
Counting of votes is scheduled for April 28.
Several candidates who received party mandates at the last moment hurried to submit their papers on Saturday, while some of those who were denied tickets expressed dissatisfaction.
Besides the BJP, Congress and AAP, the Nationalist Congress Party as well as the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) too are in the fray, which would lead to multi-cornered contests in several places.
Among notable candidates are former Gujarat-cadre IPS officer M L Ninama, former radio jockey Abha Desai and former AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani.
Ninama, who recently took voluntary retirement and joined the BJP, has been fielded from Odh seat in Shamlaji taluka for the Arvalli district panchayat elections.
Bhupendra Bhayani, who resigned as AAP MLA from Visavadar in 2024 and joined the BJP, has been nominated by the ruling party from Bhesan seat of the Junagadh district panchayat.
Abha Desai, popularly known as ‘RJ Abha’, has been nominated by the Congress from ward number 10 of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation.
Elections will be held to 34 district panchayats, 260 taluka panchayats, 84 municipalities and 15 municipal corporations including Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, making it one of the largest electoral exercises in the state.
State Election Commissioner S Murali Krishna had said that there were over 4.18 crore eligible voters across 9,992 seats.
The polls are being held under revised norms for Other Backward Class (OBC) reservations, which required extensive delimitation and restructuring of wards in several districts.
Voting will be conducted between 7 am and 6 pm on April 26. If required, re-polling will be held on April 27, and the entire election process is expected to be completed by April 30, officials said. PTI PJT PD KRK
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