New Delhi: An estimated 59 to 60 per cent turnout was recorded in the first phase of Gujarat Assembly polls on Tuesday, the Election Commission said.
The polling in 87 constituencies of Saurashtra and South Gujarat ended peacefully on Tuesday evening amid heavy security cover. 58 constituencies of Saurashtra-Kutch and 29 in South Gujarat went to polls on Tuesday. Over 52,000 Central paramilitary forces personnel were deployed at the booths.
Barring a stray incident in Rajkot, where a BJP worker was stabbed by a group of assailants near a poling booth, polling passed off peacefully.
Polling began on a slow note but picked up pace as the day progressed. A total of 19,924 polling booths had been set up to enable the 17.9 million voters to cast their ballot. The fate of 669 candidates in the fray was locked up in ballot boxes in the first phase.
Prominent among those whose political fortunes were decided are state ministers Vajubhai Vala (Rajkot II), water resources minister Narottam Patel (Chorasi), urban development minister IK Jadeja (Dhrangadhra), Leader of the Opposition Arjun Modhvadiya (Porbandar) and minister of state for finance Saurabh Dalal from Botad (Bhavnagar).
Women turned out in large numbers to cast their votes in rural parts of Saurashtra. Polling in six booths were affected due to faulty EVMs, for which replacements were sent within hours.
While three EVMs developed snags in Rajkot, two were found defective in Porbandar and one in Jetpur. Throughout the state, 30 EVMs developed technical snag and had to be replaced.
Over 2,500 visually impaired persons cast their ballots with the help of EVMs equipped with Braille, in Saurashtra, said Labhubhai Sonai, of the National Association for Blind.
Deputy Election Commissioner JP Prakash, who is the in-charge for Gujarat elections, said one DSP was suspended for being involved in bootlegging in Limkhera while a presiding officer, Harshad Patel, was replaced in Surat for giving permission to two polling agents instead of one in Choryasi constituency. Another presiding officer was replaced in the Jaffrabad constituency of Amreli due to medical reasons.
In Khambalia in Jamnagar district, one person was caught with 14 voter I-cards. About 20 fake voter cards were recovered in Baharuch but the EC has still not got any official complaint on this, the DEC said.
The Congress has filed a complain against state urban development minister IK Jadeja charging him of attempt to forcibly enter 10 polling booths. In Jhakaria in Central Gujarat, BJP has filed a complaint that Congress workers tried to forcibly enter 15 polling booths.
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