FIRST PHASE OF VOTING TODAY AS GUJARAT GOES TO POLLS

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89 of Gujarat’s 182 seat assembly will go to the polls on Thursday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party hoping to consolidate its position in a region it faced some setbacks five years ago and safeguard its bastion from the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The second phase of the elections in 93 seats is scheduled for December 5, with results to be announced on December 8.

Gujarat chief election officer P Bharti said 788 candidates were in the fray in the 89 seats across 19 districts of south Gujarat and parts of the Kutch and Saurashtra regions. Around 23.9 million of the total 43.5 million voters of the state will be eligible to exercise their franchise on Thursday.

Of particular interest is the urban centre of Surat, a traditional BJP bastion where the party has swept the 12 seats in the city. This time, it is facing a spirited campaign from the AAP, which did well in local-body polls last year and hopes to dent both the BJP and Congress vote banks.