Gandhinagar Civic Polls Record 5.9% Turnout in First Two Hours as Voting Begins Across Gujarat

Gandhinagar recorded a voter turnout of 5.90% in the first two hours of polling on Sunday as elections got underway for all 44 seats of the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC), alongside municipal polls and by-elections in other parts of Gujarat.

According to the Gujarat State Election Commission (SEC), 15,347 of the 2,59,985 registered voters in Gandhinagar had cast their votes between 7 am and 9 am on 11 October.

Male voters recorded a turnout of 7.26%, compared with 4.49% among female voters during the initial two hours.

Ward 4 Leads Early Voter Turnout

Ward 4 recorded the highest turnout at 8.97%, followed by Ward 1 at 8.26%. Ward 9 reported the lowest turnout at 4.56%, according to the initial polling figures released by the SEC.

Polling began at 7 am and is scheduled to continue until 6 pm. Voters are electing representatives across 11 wards, with 130 candidates contesting the 44 GMC seats.

The main contest is between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

BJP Seeks to Retain Control of Gandhinagar

The election is being closely watched as the BJP seeks to maintain its dominance in the state capital. In the previous GMC election, held in October 2021, the party won 41 of the 44 seats. Congress secured two seats, while AAP won one.

This time, all three parties are competing across a politically significant civic body whose decisions affect local infrastructure and public services.

Polling Underway in Okha, Thara and Other Local Bodies

Voting is also taking place in Okha and Thara municipalities, along with by-elections for vacant seats in several municipalities, district panchayats and taluka panchayats across Gujarat.

In Okha, polling is being held for 32 of the municipality's 36 seats across nine wards, with four seats already won unopposed. A total of 75 candidates are contesting the remaining seats.

In Thara, elections are being held across six wards comprising 24 seats, with 59 candidates in the fray.

The SEC has arranged police deployment and patrolling, particularly at polling stations classified as sensitive and hyper-sensitive, to maintain order during voting.

Results Scheduled for October 13

Counting of votes for the Gandhinagar civic polls and the other local-body elections is scheduled for 13 October. Repolling, if required, will take place on 12 October.

The final turnout figures will indicate the extent of voter participation across the state and provide an early measure of public engagement in the local elections.