Voter turnout in Gujarat’s local body elections showed variations across different tiers, as per official data released by the State Election Commission. The turnout figures were 49.02% in municipal corporations, 59.50% in municipalities, 61.69% in district panchayats, and 62.38% in taluka panchayats. By-elections in certain municipality seats recorded a turnout of 55.38%.
Polling was conducted from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. in 15 municipal corporations, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats, and 260 taluka panchayats, making it one of the state’s largest grassroots electoral exercises. Over 9,000 seats were contested across urban and rural local bodies, with more than four crore eligible voters participating. The voting process utilized electronic voting machines (EVMs) and had robust administrative and security measures in place, including deploying over one lakh police personnel for orderly polling.
Re-polling is scheduled for Monday at polling stations 4 and 5 in Jepar village of Chuda taluka in Surendranagar district due to an EVM malfunction. The by-elections covered 13 seats in 11 municipalities, with polling concluding within the designated time frame. The electoral competition featured candidates from major political parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and independents, with over 32,000 nominations filed for 10,000+ seats, indicating a broad contest.
In Ahmedabad, voting occurred for 190 municipal corporation seats across 48 wards, involving more than 38 lakh registered voters and numerous candidates. These elections are viewed as a crucial test of political influence at the grassroots level, with results set to be announced on April 28 after the polling and re-polling processes are completed.
