Gujarat elections phase 2: Voting underway, Modi casts vote

The second and final phase of voting for the Gujarat Assembly elections in 93 constituencies across 14 districts in the central and north regions of the state is underway.

The polling began at 8am on Monday and will continue till 5pm.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast his vote at a polling station set up at a school in Ranip area of Ahmedabad city in the morning, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah exercised his franchise at a municipal centre in Naranpura area, reports The Times of India.

Speaking to the media, the prime minister thanked the Election Commission for the conduct of the polls and urged the people to step out and vote.

A total of 833 candidates from 61 political parties, including Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are contesting the polls whose fate will be decided by over 2.51 crore electorates.

The 93 poll-bound seats in the second phase are spread across Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Patan, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Aravali, Mahisagar, Panchmahal, Dahod, Vadodara, Anand, Kheda and Chhota Udaipur districts, according to livemint.com.

The Election Commission has set up 26,409 polling booths and nearly 36,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be used for the purpose. Around 29,000 presiding officers and over 84,000 polling officers have been deployed to facilitate the polls.

Polling for the first phase for 89 constituencies in Saurashtra, Kutch and south Gujarat regions was held on December 1 with an average voter turnout of 63.31 per cent.

The counting of votes for all 182 constituencies in Gujarat will be taken up on December 8.