Till 1 pm, the voter turn out in these 87 constituencies, decisive for the fate of state political big-wigs like Keshubhai Patel, BJP's RC Faldu and Congress' Arjun Modhwadia, was a brisk 38%.
Voter turnout of 67% was recorded in the elections to 87 seats across Gujarat during the first phase of state assembly elections on Thursday.
Earlier, additional chief electoral officer Ashok Manek said, "53% polling was recorded till 3 pm."
Till 1 pm, the voter turn out in these 87 constituencies, decisive for the fate of state political big-wigs like Keshubhai Patel, BJP's RC Faldu and Congress' Arjun Modhwadia, was a brisk 38%. During past two hours reports of some skirmishes and disturbances were also received from Surat city.
In Limbayat, a fight broke out between two rival BJP leaders on the issue of parking their vehicles near the polling centre at Nilgiri circle. Both reached the police station to lodge complaint against each other with injuries.
Dissatisfaction has been brewing among the BJP faction following the decision to give ticket to Sangita Patil in Limbayat, with many BJP corporators resigning from the post in protest.
In another incident, some unidentified people attacked Lalit Gajera, son of Congress candidate from Varachha, Dhiru Gajera, in Kapodra area of Surat, police said.
In places like Kutiyana where Kandhal Jadeja, son of 'God Mother' Santokhben, is contesting on Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ticket, brisk voting was recorded.
There were reports of EVM malfunctioning from some polling booths in Viramgam Sanand and Surat constituencies. Many people also complained about absence of their names from electoral rolls.
The constituencies where polling started include 48 in seven districts of Saurashtra, 35 seats in seven districts of south Gujarat and four seats in Ahmedabad district.
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