Gujarat civic polls 2021 LIVE updates: Amit Shah casts vote in Ahmedabad, says development will win

Amit Shah votes in the Gujarat municipal elections. ANI

Gujarat civic polls 2021 Latest updates:  Union Home Minister Amit Shah and his family voted at the Naranpura Sub Zonal Office in Ahmedabad.

Later, talking to reporters, Shah expressed confidence that the BJP will win the civic polls in Gujarat.”I am sure that voters will turn out in large numbers and development will win,” he said.

Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, who tested positive for coronavirus during the campaign some days back, is likely to vote in his hometown Rajkot.

Polling is underway in six cities, as per reports. A total of 2,276 candidates are in the fray comprising 577 from the BJP, 566 from the Congress, 470 from AAP, 91 from NCP, 353 from other parties and 228 Independents.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will cast his vote in Naranpura ward of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation while Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, currently under treatment for COVID-19 at Ahmedabad’s UN Mehta Heart Hospital, is likely to cast his vote in a polling booth in Anil Gyan Mandir School in his hometown Rajkot, the state BJP had said on Saturday.

Voting for 575 seats in six municipal corporations of Gujarat will take place today and 1.14 crore voters — 60.60 lakh men and 54.06 lakh women — are eligible to exercise their franchise.

Voting in the civic polls in six major cities of Gujarat will be held between 7 am and 5 pm on Sunday amid tight security and adherence to COVID-19 norms, officials said.

The municipal corporation elections in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar are being seen as a test for Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani as it may set the tone for the Assembly polls slated for next year.

Votes will be cast for a total of 575 seats with each ward having four corporators, and 2,276 candidates, comprising 577 from the BJP, 566 from the Congress, 470 from AAP, 91 from NCP, 353 from other parties and 228 Independents, are in the fray, officials informed.

“The total number of voters in the six cities stands at 1.14 crore, comprising 60.60 lakh men and 54.06 lakh women.

Of the 11,121 polling booths, 2,255 are sensitive and 1,188 have been designated as very sensitive,” a poll official said.

Votes will be counted on 23 February, following which, on 28 February, polls to 31 district and 231 taluka panchayats, as well as 81 municipalities will be held, he added.

During the campaign, the BJP played the “development” card, while the Congress, which has been out of power in these local bodies for a long time now, cited “lack of amenities” and the recent fuel price hike to turn the tide.

The Aam Aadmi Party has claimed it would be an effective alternative to the BJP and Congress, while Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM will make its local bodies poll debut having fielded 21 candidates in six wards in Ahmedabad.

Rupani, who tested positive for coronavirus during the campaign, maybe discharged from hospital later in the night and is likely to vote in his hometown Rajkot on Sunday.