In the first two hours, average 6 to 10% voting was recorded in all the six municipal corporation areas of the city. Ques were witnessed in only some voting booths.
Voting for the elections of six municipal corporations in Gujarat being held today was lacklustre in the first couple of hours.
In the first two hours, average 6 to 10% voting was recorded in all the six municipal corporation areas of the city. Ques were witnessed in only some voting booths.
Senior leaders of Congress and BJP also exercised their franchise.
Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi told reporters, "I have casted my vote today on 10-10-10 (October, 10, 2010) at 10.10am."
"BJP has been winning all elections in the state for the last 15 to 20 years. The party is wedded to development and people of Gujarat will vote for development this time also. We will win this elections," Modi further said.
Congress leaders like Narhari Amin have also voted in the early hours of the day.
Over 2,100 candidates are in fray for more than 558 seats for elections in six municipal corporations in Gujarat as ruling BJP and the opposition Congress had campaigned extensively and had also roped in national leaders for local polls.
All the six municipal corporations - Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Jamangar and Bhavnagar were won by the BJP in the last elections.
The BJP had made the arrest of Amit Shah, close aide of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, by the CBI in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case as one of the main issues as all its national leaders alleged that the arrest amounted to misuse of the CBI by the Congress and asked people to give reply with ballot paper.
Congress on the other hand had focused more on local issues saying that the corporation polls were about civic amenities and highlighted assistance given to the state under Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission for development of infrastructure in cities.
The State Elections Commission has set up 10,440 voting booths in the six municipal corporations of which about 2600 have been identified as sensitive and 774 declared as very sensitive booths.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made by the state police to ensure that the election passes off peacefully, police official said adding that the State Reserve Police has also been deployed at important spots.
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