New Delhi, April 26 (IANS) Voting for Gujarat’s extensive local body elections is set to take place on Sunday, covering 393 self-government institutions across the state.

The elections include 15 municipal corporations, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats, and 260 taluka panchayats, making it a major democratic exercise.

Polling is scheduled to begin at 7:00 AM and will conclude at 6:00 PM. If necessary, repolling will be conducted the following day. The counting of votes will take place on April 28.

These elections are particularly significant as they are being viewed as a key barometer of public sentiment ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections scheduled for the end of next year, as well as the general elections expected within the next two years. More than 4.18 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes, with turnout expected to be high across nearly 50,000 polling stations.

A total of 9,992 local representatives are being elected. After withdrawals, more than 20,000 candidates remain in the fray, while several candidates have already been elected unopposed.

The contest is multi-cornered, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and independent candidates competing across the state. The BJP currently holds control over the municipal corporations of Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, and Rajkot, all of which are politically significant and expected to influence the broader electoral landscape.

This election cycle is also notable as it is being conducted under revised reservation norms for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), providing 27 percent reservation. The changes required extensive delimitation and ward restructuring in several districts. Along with existing reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and women, these reforms are expected to reshape local governance bodies across Gujarat.

–IANS

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