Gandhinagar, April 27 (IANS) Voter turnout in Gujarat’s local body elections remained varied across different tiers, with polling conducted across the state, according to official data released by the State Election Commission.

The Commission said on Sunday that the voter turnout stood at 49.02 per cent in municipal corporations, 59.50 per cent in municipalities, 61.69 per cent in district panchayats and 62.38 per cent in taluka panchayats.

In by-elections to certain seats in municipalities, voter turnout was recorded at 55.38 per cent.

Polling was held from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. across 15 municipal corporations, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats, forming part of one of the largest grassroots electoral exercises in the state.

The elections covered more than 9,000 seats across urban and rural local bodies, with more than four crore eligible voters participating in the process.

The elections were conducted using electronic voting machines (EVMs), with extensive administrative and security arrangements in place, including the deployment of more than one lakh police personnel across Gujarat to ensure orderly polling.

Re-polling has been scheduled for Monday at polling station numbers 4 and 5 in Jepar village of Chuda taluka in Surendranagar district after an EVM malfunction was reported.

Voting at these stations will again take place between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., in line with the Commission’s guidelines.

The by-elections covered 13 seats across 11 municipalities, where polling concluded within the stipulated time.

The electoral contest involved candidates from major political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) along with independents.

More than 32,000 nominations were filed for more than 10,000 seats, indicating a wide contest across local bodies.

Earlier, 736 seats were decided uncontested ahead of polling, with the Commission reporting hundreds of such outcomes across different tiers.

In Ahmedabad, voting took place for 190 seats of the municipal corporation across 48 wards, with more than 38 lakh registered voters and hundreds of candidates in the fray, reflecting the scale of the urban contest.

These elections are being seen as a significant test of political strength at the grassroots level, with results scheduled to be declared on April 28 following completion of polling and re-polling procedures.

–IANS

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