Ahmedabad, Dec 14 (UNI) Bringing an end to weeks of acrimonious campaign, the second phase of polling to 93 assembly segments in Gujarat got underway a short while ago on Thursday in politically important north and central zones of the state.
The polling that began around 0800 hours amid tight security will continue till 1700 hours, poll officials said.
An estimated 2.22 crore people are eligible to vote in the second phase of polling on Thursday that would decide the fate of 851 candidates.
Among others, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to exercise his franchise in Ranip area of Ahmedabad.
Elections are taking place across 14 districts in north and central Gujarat including capital Gandhinagar and state's commercial hub Ahmedabad.
The first phase of voting for the 182-member state assembly held on December 9 covered
89 seats.
About 68 per cent voter turnout was reported at the close of the polling hours in first phase of voting on December 9, last Saturday, which was conducted in peaceful manner barring a few alleged incidents of technical malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Five years back in 2012 assembly elections, the first phase had registered 70.74 per cent voter turnout.
Due to technical snags in EVMs,the re-polling will also be held on Thursday in two booths of Jamjodhpur constituency, two booths in Una, one in Nijjar, and one in Umargam.
Multi-tier security arrangements have been put in place to ensure
smooth conduct of polls.
More than 100 companies of paramilitary forces, apart from state police, have been deployed, officials said.
For the second phase of polls, BJP has fielded 93 candidates and 91 nominees from Congress are in fray for Thursday's polling.
In 2012, the BJP had won 52 while the Congress party had picked up 39 seats out of these.
Prominent candidates include Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who is contesting from Mahesana, Thakor leader Alpesh Thakor, who is the Congress candidate from Radhanpur, and Jignesh Mewani, who is an independent candidate from Vadgam in North
Gujarat. Leader of Congress Legislative Party Mohansinh Rathva is contesting from the tribal constituency of Chhota Udaipur.
Polling will also take place in Ahmedabad city that has 16 assembly segments.
A high-decibel campaign that saw both BJP and Congress slamming each other ended on Tuesday evening - even as vitriolic campaign by political leaders and war of words continued.
The elections in Gujarat this year also coincides with internal development in Congress party as Rahul Gandhi was elected "unopposed" as new Congress President replacing his mother Sonia Gandhi. Mr Gandhi will formally take charge on December 16.
Big row surfaced on Wednesday just a few hours before the last phase of keenly contested elections with Rahul Gandhi's interviews to Gujarati news channels, which the BJP said was violation of code of conduct, and the saffron party coming under attack for trying to muzzle media.
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