A little over 68% of 2.12 crore electorate in 19 districts of Saurashtra-Kutch and South Gujarat on Saturday peacefully voted to decide the fate of 977 candidates for 89 Assembly seats in the first phase of the election.
The low turnout compared 70.7% in 2012, has kept everyone clueless about the way voters would have swung.
Both the BJP and Congress have claimed an upper hand. “BJP is slated for a big win. This will be a landslide victory,” Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
“I think the people have voted to free Gujarat from fear, hunger and the corrupt rule of BJP,” Paresh Dhanani, Congress leader and candidate from Amreli constituency in Saurashtra region said.
Of the 89 seats, Saurashtra-Kutch account for 54 seats and South Gujarat 35. Of these, the BJP won 63, Congress 24, NCP one and JD(U) one in the 2012 Assembly polls.
The lower polling percentage across many parts, observers feel, traditionally suggests a pro-incumbency tilt.
However, they say results could now depend on local issues, equations and candidates compared to generic issues like Patel quota stir, unemployment, GST and demonetisation.
Kutch, with six Assembly seats, was rocked by a sex racket by BJP members. It recorded the lowest turnout at 63% among all big districts that went to polls on Saturday, down from 68.25% in 2012. In Rajkot, from where chief minister Vijay Rupani too is fighting Indranil Rajyaguru of Congress, the voting percentage stood at 69, lower by a mere couple of percentage points.
Key contestants
Besides Rupani, other key candidates in the fray were Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani from Bhavnagar (West), senior Congress leaders Shaktisinh Gohil from Mandvi (Kutch) , Arjun Modhvadia from Porbandar and Paresh Dhanani from Amreli.
Similarly, Junagadh district, that in 2012 had elected three Congress legislators and two BJP legislators, this time has seen almost a 5% drop in voting percentage. It was here that the issue of Dalit beating had assumed national significance in 2016.
