Body elections held in Gujarat.
Ahmedabad: Voting for elections and by -elections of various local bodies and by -elections in Gujarat on Sunday in Gujarat was concluded peacefully. With this, the fate of 5,084 candidates has been captured in EVMs. Officials said elections were held for Junagadh Municipal Corporation, 66 municipalities and three taluka panchayats, while by -elections were held for Botad and Vankaner municipalities. Apart from this, by -elections were held for 124 seats of other local and urban bodies lying vacant due to various reasons.
27 percent OBC seat reserved
This is the first election match for local bodies, where 27 percent seats in panchayats, municipalities and civil corporations have been reserved for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) as per the decision of the Gujarat government in 2023. Although the overall final polling percentage has not been released yet, the Junagadh Municipal Corporation has recorded a provisional polling data of 44.32 percent. Officials said the Botad municipality recorded a provisional voting of 31 percent.
Election was peaceful
Voting with sporadic incidents of violence was largely peaceful. EVM malfunction at a polling station in Radhanpur in Patan district disrupted the process for some time, but was resolved and voting went ahead smoothly. Ramaben Jala (101) and Pachuben Olakia (102) caught everyone’s attention by reaching Garhda in Botad district. MPs Rajesh Chudasama (Junagadh) and Jashubhai Rathwa (Chhota Udaipur) also exercised the franchise at their respective polling stations.
213 candidates elected unopposed
The 213 ‘unopposed’ seat was not voted in various local bodies as only one candidate (ruling BJP) was left in the fray after other candidates withdrew their nominations. These include eight seats out of 60 seats in 15 wards of Junagadh Municipal Corporation, where only BJP candidates are left in the fray after rival Congress and other candidates are removed from the election race. The BJP has said that it is going to win the four municipalities of Bhachau, Zafarabad, Bantwa and Halol, as the number of ‘unopposed’ in favor of it is more than the figures required for the required majority in each of these municipal bodies. The Congress claimed that its candidates were threatened with withdrawal of nominations, but the BJP has denied the charge. (Input-PTI)
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