Voting for Gujarat’s local body elections started on Sunday, covering various levels of governance like municipal corporations, municipalities, district panchayats, and taluka panchayats. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to vote at a polling station in Ahmedabad around 11 a.m., while Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel is scheduled to vote at Shilaj Primary School at 10 a.m. BJP state president Jagdish Vishwakarma and Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi will also cast their votes at different locations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the civic polls through a postal ballot, continuing his past practice. The voting process, utilizing Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), is being conducted from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. across urban and rural local bodies. The elections encompass a broad spectrum of local bodies, with thousands of seats contested in Gujarat’s urban and rural institutions.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation alone has 192 seats across 48 wards, while the entire state is witnessing elections for nearly 10,000 seats in local bodies. Extensive security and administrative measures are in place at numerous polling stations to ensure smooth voting. The State Election Commission has confirmed that vote counting will occur on April 28.
With polling in progress, these civic elections are a significant test of political influence for parties at the local level in Gujarat’s urban and rural areas.
