58.57 lakh voters to decide fate of 48 candidates

More than 58.57 lakh voters will decide the fate of 48 candidates in the four Lok Sabha seats of Surat, Bardoli, Navsari and Valsad on Thursday.

According to officials, 14.20 voters will decide the fate of 15 candidates, who are in fray from Surat LS seat. The seat has 7.86 lakh male voters while number of female voters is 6.34 lakh.

District election officer Dilip Raval said that tight security arrangements have been made with adequate deployment of police and paramilitary forces to ensure free and fair elections. Officials said more than 2,600 police personnel, apart from six companies of paramilitary forces, two companies of SRP and 3000 home guard jawans have been deployed.

In Bardoli, 14.40 lakh voters will decide the fate of 12 candidates, while 16.17 lakh voters will exercise their franchise and decide the fate of 14 candidates from Navsari seat. Seven candidates are contesting from Valsad seat which has 13.80 lakh voters.

Officials said that 4,284 polling booths have been set up in Surat, Bardoli and Navsari LS seats. A total of 4,284 electronic voting machines will be used in these booths, while 380 EVMs have been kept as reserve.