Gujarat Election 2022 Voting: Over 58% Voter Turnout Recorded Till 5 PM; Exit Polls Predict BJP Set to Form Govt Again

AAP Gujarat CM Candidate Isudan Gadhvi said that exit polls which predict BJP’s win will be proved wrong. “It’s difficult to predict results through exit polls. BJP won’t form govt, we’ll win over 51 seats in phase 1 while over 52 seats in phase 2. Exit polls will be proved wrong. BJP is declining in the state,” he said.

The buzz of “parivartan” (change) about the Gujarat assembly elections that was reverberating in many places outside the state seems to have escaped the voters here, if exit polls are any indication.

The BJP will win its seventh successive term in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state, they predicted on Monday. READ MORE

Exit polls on Monday predicted a big majority for the BJP in Gujarat while most of them gave an edge to it in Himachal Pradesh, indicating re-election of the ruling party in both states.

However, two exit polls showed a dead heat between the BJP and the Congress in Himachal Pradesh where results could go either way.

The counting of votes in both states will take place on December 8. Elections for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly took place on November 12, while polling in Gujarat happened in two phases on December 1 and 5.

Most exit polls predicted a big mandate for the BJP in Gujarat in the range of 117-148 seats in the 182-member assembly, while the Congress was predicted to bag seats in the range of 30-51 seats. The Aam Aadmi Party was projected to bag anything between three and 13 seats. The majority mark in Gujarat is 92.

In Himachal Pradesh, the exit polls projected a range of 24-40 seats for the BJP and 26-40 seats for the Congress. The AAP was projected to bag seats in the range of 0-3. The majority mark is 35 seats.

According to the News X-Jan Ki Baat exit poll on Gujarat elections, the BJP was likely to get 117-140 seats, Congress-NCP 34-51, AAP 6-13 and others 1-2.

Republic TV P-MARQ predicted 128-148 seats for the BJP, 30-42 for the Congress-NCP, AAP 2-10 and others 0-3.

TV9 Gujarati forecast that the BJP would get 125-130 seats, Congress-NCP 40-50, AAP 3-5 and others 3-7.

For Himachal Pradesh, Aaj Tak-Axis My India predicted a close contest between the Congress and the BJP. It said the BJP would get 24-34 seats and the Congress 30-40 seats.

India TV predicted that the BJP would bag 35-40 seats, Congress 26-31 and AAP zero.

News X-Jan Ki Baat survey said the BJP was likely to get 32-40 seats in the hill state, Congress 27-34 and AAP zero.

While Republic TV P-MARQ predicted that the BJP would get 34-39, Congress 28-33 and AAP 0-1, the Times Now-ETG said the average seats BJP was likely to get was 38 and the Congress 28.

For the Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls, most exit polls predicted a huge win for the AAP over the BJP with the Congress a distant third.

According to initial predictions, pollsters on Monday predicted a clear majority for BJP in both Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat Assembly Elections. In Gujarat, BJP can secure 117 to 140 seats according to Jan ki Baat, while in Himachal Pradesh, BJP can secure 34 to 39 seats, as per PMarq. n READ MORE

Exit polls show that the BJP will form the government with majority again in Gujarat.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera alleged that PM Modi did a roadshow of two and half hours while he went to cast his vote during the polling day. “We will appeal to EC against it, seems like Election Commission is willingly under pressure,” he said.

An average 50.51 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 3 pm on Monday in the second and final phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections covering 93 seats across 14 districts of north and central regions, the Election Commission said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Aam Aadmi Party’s chief ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi and Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Sukhram Rathva were among those who cast votes.

Voting began at 8 am across 14,975 polling stations and will continue till 5 pm.

The electoral fate of CM Bhupendra Patel and 832 other candidates, including 285 Independents, will be decided in the second phase.

Till 1 pm, Sabarkantha district recorded the highest voter turnout at 57.23 per cent, followed by Banaskantha with 55.52 per cent.

In Ahmedabad district, the voter turnout till 3 pm stood at 44.67 per cent. In Vadodara, it was 49.69 per cent, as per an update shared by the Election Commission.

The poll body said in the first three hours after voting began, 41 ballot units, 40 control units and 109 voter-verifiable paper audit trails (VVPATs) were replaced due to malfunctioning.

PM Modi exercised his democratic right at a polling station at Nishan High School in Ahmedabad city’s Ranip area in the morning.

His centenarian mother Hiraba cast her vote at a polling station in Gandhinagar district.

Union minister Shah cast his vote at a municipal centre in Naranpura locality in Ahmedabad city.

The prime minister said the state’s people listen to everybody, but it is their nature to accept what is true.

He also congratulated the Election Commission for conducting the polls in a “spectacular manner” and raising the prestige of India’s democracy in the whole world.

He said the voters of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi celebrated “the festival of democracy” with great enthusiasm Isudan Gadhvi voted at a booth in Ghuma locality, also in Ahmedabad. He is the AAP candidate from Khambhalia seat in Devbhumi Dwarka district where polling was held in the first phase on December 1.

Apart from CM Bhupendra Patel, BJP leaders Hardik Patel and Alpesh Thakor, and Congress leader Jignesh Mevani are among those in the fray in the second phase of polls.

The BJP and the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP are contesting in all 93 seats. The Congress is contesting 90 seats and its alliance partner Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has fielded two candidates.

Among other parties, the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) has fielded 12 candidates and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) 44.

The 93 seats where voting is underway are spread across 14 districts including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Gandhinagar.

A total of 2.51 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise for the second phase of elections, including 1.29 crore men and 1.22 crore women. There are 5.96 lakh voters in the age group of 18 to 19 years, according to the Election Commission.

In the 2017 Assembly polls, the ruling BJP won 51 of the 93 seats, Congress 39, while three seats went to independent candidates.

In central Gujarat, the BJP had bagged 37 seats, outnumbering the Congress which got 22. But in north Gujarat, the Congress had won 17 seats while the saffron party got 14. Of the total 182 Assembly seats in Gujarat, polling for 89 segments was held on December 1 when an average voter turnout of 63.31 per cent was recorded.

The counting of votes in all the seats will be taken up on December 8.

Bed-ridden people, patients on oxygen support, senior citizens including centenarians, and transgender persons were among those who came out to vote in the Gujarat Assembly elections on Monday, setting an example for others to exercise their democratic right.

Physically challenged Ankit Soni, who was born without arms, took everyone by surprise as he used his toes to sign a form at the polling booth and push the button on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) in Nadiad town of Kheda district.

Cricketer brothers Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan exercised their franchise in Vadodara and also urged other people to come out in large numbers to vote.

Polling was underway on Monday for elections in 93 out of the total 182 seats in Gujarat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast his vote in Ranip area of Ahmedabad city, while his centenarian mother Hiraba exercised her franchise in Gandhinagar district, where she lives with the PM’s younger brother.

Many citizens above the age of 100 went to their respective polling booths to cast vote in different parts of the state.

In a tweet, Gujarat’s Chief Electoral Officer P Bharathi praised 110-year-old Shantaben Thakor, who exercised her franchise in Vijapur town of Mehsana district.

Besides, a 102-year-old woman voted in Palanpur, while a woman aged 108 cast her vote in Godhra.

In Naranpura area of Ahmedabad city, a 60-year-old man, who had undergone a bypass surgery and was on oxygen support, reached the polling booth with a nasal cannula still strapped to his face.

In Gomtipur area here, a 56-year-old woman suffering from fibrosis and on oxygen support for the last four years, also reached the polling booth with her nasal tube intact.

In Anand, a bed-ridden elderly woman reached a polling booth in an ambulance.

Jain community leader Ramesh Shah, who underwent a brain hemorrhage surgery 48 hours back, also arrived in an ambulance at a polling booth in Anand town.

“Though I underwent the surgery in Vadodara recently, I requested doctors to allow me to vote. On my request, the hospital arranged an ambulance and also sent their paramedic staff with me so that I can cast my vote,” Shah told reporters.

In Petlad town of Anand district, nearly 100 transgender persons first took out a foot march to spread awareness among citizens about voting and then exercised their franchise.

Cricketer brothers Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan voted in Vadodara and also appealed to other citizens also to do so.

“People are not coming out despite so many appeals. We all must ensure that 100 per cent voters use their right. We need everyone’s vote to make this country better,” Irfan Pathan said.

In the morning, Prime Minister Modi after casting his vote at a polling booth in Nishan High School walked to the house of his elder brother Somabhai Modi, on whose address the PM is registered as a voter in Ranip area.

Hundreds of his supporters and locals gathered in the area to catch a glimpse of the PM, who waved at them while walking towards his brother’s house located near the school.

“I have been standing here for the last one hour to have a glimpse of our PM. I will cast my vote only after PM Modi comes here. I never miss a chance to see him whenever he comes to Ranip to cast his vote,” an elderly man from the area said outside the school.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accompanied by his wife Sonalben Shah and son Jay Shah, also cast his vote in Naranpura area of the city, where he used to live before moving to Thaltej area. PTI PJT PD GK GK

.

Former Indian cricketers Yusuf Pathan and Irfan Pathan along with their family members cast their votes at a polling booth in Vadodara for the second phase of Gujarat Assembly Polls.

“I appeal to people to come out and vote,” says former Indian Cricketer Yusuf Pathan.

The voters in four villages of Gujarat’s Mehsana district said they were boycotting the elections as no development had taken place in their areas.

The Becharaji Taluka Bariyaf village and Kheralu Taluka’s three villages on Monday claimed that their issues have remained unresolved for decades and hence they were not participating in the voting exercise. READ MORE

The Aam Aadmi Party has left no stone unturned in its fiery election campaign in Gujarat, aimed at launching itself as a national party by the next Lok Sabha polls in 2024. While Gujarat may play a crucial role in national convener Arvind Kejriwal’s pan-India ambitions, the party is no stranger to fighting even the toughest fight. READ MORE

After lower voter turnout for polling in Himachal Pradesh and then in the first phase of the Gujarat assembly elections on December 1, the Election Commission of India on Saturday urged voters to come out in large numbers for the second phase on December 5.

Chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar appealed to Gujarat voters to come out in large numbers for the second phase polling so as to compensate for low voting in the first phase. “The possibility of surpassing the 2017 voting percentage now lies in their increased participation only,” he said. READ MORE

During the polling day, PM Modi did a roadshow of two and a half hours while he went to cast his vote. Will appeal to EC against it, seems like Election Commission is willingly under pressure: Congress Spokesperson Pawan Khera.

The contest for the Muslim-dominated Jamalpur Khadia Assembly constituency in Ahmedabad city has become a three-cornered one with the entry of Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM, a cause of worry especially for Congress as the AIMIM nominee is a former MLA of the Grand Old Party who had contested as an Independent in 2012 resulting in the victory for BJP from the seat. READ MORE

Sixteen urban Assembly seats in Ahmedabad city, which go to polls in the second phase of the Gujarat polls on Monday, are crucial for the Bharatiya Janata Party which has always enjoyed an upper hand here in the elections since 1990.

While the Congress improved its tally to four seats in the 2017 election from two in 2012, the fight has become more interesting this time with the entry of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has fielded its candidates in all the 16 seats, and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) which is contesting four seats. READ MORE

A scuffle reportedly broke out at the Keshavpura polling station in Ankav constituency in Anand, Gujarat between BJP and Congress workers and the situation brought under control by the police.

34.74 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 1 pm, in the second phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections.

ABorder Security Force jawan Chhotusinh Vaghela, whose marriage was scheduled on Monday, reached the polling booth at the Duva village in Tharad constituency to cast his vote before heading to the wedding venue. READ MORE