Ahmedabad, Apr 28 (PTI) Counting of votes began on Tuesday morning for the local body elections in Gujarat, officials said.
Polling was held on Sunday for elections to 15 municipal corporations, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats in the state.
Counting of votes began at 9 am on Tuesday, State Election Commission (SEC) officials said.
The polls, considered one of the largest electoral exercises in the state ahead of the assembly elections due next year, covered nearly 9,200 seats with over 4.18 crore eligible voters.
The voter turnout stood at 55.1 per cent for municipal corporations, 65.53 per cent for municipalities, 66.64 per cent for district panchayats and 67.26 per cent for taluka panchayats, according to data released by the SEC.
Among the municipal corporations, the newly formed Gandhidham in Kutch district recorded the lowest turnout at 46.03 per cent, while Vapi in Valsad district registered the highest at 72.29 per cent.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation recorded a turnout of 51.81 per cent.
Polls were held for the first time in nine newly created municipal corporations — Navsari, Gandhidham, Morbi, Vapi, Anand, Nadiad, Mehsana, Porbandar and Surendranagar.
The elections were conducted under revised norms for Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservations, which required extensive delimitation and restructuring of wards in several districts.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Opposition Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party were the key contenders, while the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) also contested in several places. PTI COR PJT PD GK
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