LOW TURNOUT, HIGH DRAMA AS GUJARAT VOTES IN SECOND PHASE
Voting for the second and final phase of the Gujarat assembly election, which caught the nation’s frenzy, concluded on Thursday, with the state witnessing a turnout of 68.7 per cent, according to initial estimates of the Election Commission (EC). Given the combined average turnout of 73.5 per cent for north and central regions for the second phase in the previous elections in 2012, this year has seen a lower turnout.
Of the roughly 22.2 million registered voters for 93 out of 182 constituencies, over 15.25 million turned up to vote in the second phase. From among a total of 851 candidates in the fray, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielded 93, while the Congress fielded 91. However, as against 424 independent candidates for 89 seats in the first phase, the second phase saw 350 independents vying for 93 seats.
Compared to Kutch, Saurashtra and south Gujarat regions, which largely comprised agrarian areas, in the first phase of Gujarat polls, the second phase shifted to major urban areas.
The polling took place in 14 districts, including major urban areas of Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Gandhinagar, apart from Banaskantha, Patan, Mehsana and Sabarkantha, among others. Among these, while Sabarkantha district in north Gujarat registered the highest turnout of 77 per cent, the tribal district of Dahod posted the lowest at 60 per cent.
Of the 93 constituencies where polling took place, 54 were rural areas, while the rest are believed to be urban. Among the urban areas, while Ahmedabad saw a turnout of 63 per cent, Gandhinagar and Vadodara posted 65 per cent and 73 per cent, respectively.
The turnout for north and central Gujarat regions this time ended up at 71.6 per cent and 67.8 per cent, respectively. In the previous election, the turnout in north Gujarat was 75 per cent and in central Gujarat 72 per cent, resulting in a combined average turnout of 73.5 per cent for the two regions.
In 2012, the BJP had won 16 out of 33 seats in north Gujarat, 24 of the 43 in central Gujarat and 15 of the 19 in Ahmedabad. The Congress, on the other hand, had managed 17 seats each in the north or central Gujarat regions and four in Ahmedabad. In terms of voter turnout, Sabarkantha had seen the highest at 76.69 per cent among the districts in the second phase of polls in 2012, while Ahmedabad had seen the lowest.
Analysts felt the BJP had an edge over the Congress when it came to organisational capabilities. “The Modi charisma still works. Plus the organisational edifice that the BJP has, be it booth management or mobilising cadres, gives an edge to the party,” sociologist and political analyst Vidyut Joshi said.
Stray incidents of violence were reported in Vadodara and Mehsana districts. The Congress alleged a violation of code of conduct by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for engaging in a road rally after casting his vote in the Ranip booth of Ahmedabad.
Earlier in the day, Modi cast his vote at booth number 115 in Ranip locality of Sabarmati in Ahmedabad. A huge crowd had already gathered at the spot since morning to catch a glimpse of the PM. They welcomed the PM with chants of ‘Modi-Modi’. The PM, who stood in a queue and waited for his turn to vote, walked a certain distance (showing his inked finger to the crowd) amidst huge cheer. He later stood on the footboard of his car and waved at the crowd.
Further, polling also had to be halted briefly due to technical snag in the electronic voting machines (EVMs) at several polling stations in districts of Banaskantha, Ahmedabad and Aravalli in the initial hours of polling. The EC also received complaints of EVM being connected to external devices via bluetooth from five places including Patan, Kheda, Meshsana districts, Ghatlodia in Ahmedabad and Godhra in Panchmahal.
The EC, however, clarified during the day that after an inquiry it was found there was ‘no substance’ in the complaints. The EC also said there were reports of EVM and voterverified paper audit trail (VVPAT) malfunctioning at some places in Aravalli and Panchmahal districts.
Stray incidents of group clashes and arson were reported, thereby resulting in halting or delay in voting in certain booths. Savli area in Vadodara district witnessed arson, coupled with clashes between groups, while Visnagar region in Mehsana district saw stonepelting among groups, with as many as 10 being injured.