Gandhinagar, Oct 11 — Voting is underway for the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) elections on Sunday, with a turnout of 5.90 per cent recorded in the first two hours, as polling also took place in Okha and Thara municipalities and for by-elections to seats in other local bodies across Gujarat.
According to the State Election Commission (SEC), 15,347 of the 2,59,985 registered voters in Gandhinagar had cast their votes between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m.
The turnout was 7.26 per cent among male voters and 4.49 per cent among female voters. Ward 4 recorded the highest turnout at 8.97 per cent, followed by Ward 1 at 8.26 per cent.
Ward 9 reported the lowest turnout at 4.56 per cent, according to the poll data report.
Elections are being held for all 44 seats across the GMC's 11 wards, with 130 candidates in the fray. The principal contest is among the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Polling began at 7 a.m. and will continue until 6 p.m. The elections are being conducted through electronic voting machines (EVMs). The GMC, which has 2,59,985 registered voters, last went to the polls in October 2021, when the BJP won 41 of the 44 seats.
Congress secured two seats, while the AAP won one. In the Okha municipality, polling is being held for 32 of the total 36 seats across nine wards, as four seats were won unopposed.
A total of 75 candidates are contesting the remaining seats, according to the SEC. In Thara municipality, elections are being held across six wards comprising 24 seats, with 59 candidates in the fray.
By-elections are also being held for one seat each in the Kheralu, Chhota Udepur and Bayad municipalities, along with vacancies in various district and taluka panchayats across the state.
The SEC has arranged police deployment and patrolling, particularly at polling stations classified as sensitive and hyper-sensitive, to ensure peaceful voting.
The election schedule was announced on September 16, triggering the implementation of the model code of conduct. Counting of votes is scheduled for October 13.
Repolling, if required, will be held on Monday.