Today marks phase III with over 1,300 candidates in the fray across the 11 states and UTs, and 93 Lok Sabha constituencies.

A total of 25 Lok Sabha constituencies are set for polling with 4.97 crore registered voters at over 50,000 polling stations.

Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja casts vote in Jamnagar

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No voting at four Guj villages

Dissatisfied with the governance, four villages witness 0% voter turnout in Gujarat. The villages include Bhakhri in Banaskantha, Rabari (Jesar) in Bhavnagar, Sandhar in Surat's Mangrol, and Arjanvav in Bayad in Arvalli.

Voter turnout till 3 pm

With only two hours remaining before the polling stations close in Gujarat, the state has recorded a 47.03% voter turnout as of 3 pm.

Valsad constituency has surpassed Banaskantha with 58.05%, Banaskantha recorded 55.74% voter turnout while Bharuch stands at 54.90% turnout till 3 pm. 

The lowest voter turnout was recorded in Amreli at 37.82%.

Voter turnout till 1 pm

The voter turnout reached at 37.83% till 1 pm in Gujarat. 

With 45% voter turnout, Banaskantha has been leading the list since morning, followed by 45.34% in Valsad, and 42.65% in Chhotaudepur till 1 pm. 

Inclusive elections

The specially-abled voters were provided with wheelchairs, braille slips, and companions to vote.

The third gender community in Nadiad cast their vote.

The tribal community of Siddi in Gir Somnath's Madhupur Jambur village of Talala taluka (Junagadh) cast their vote in their tradition attire and dance.

Voters show up amid heatwave

Long queues of voters witnessed amid 42° C in Ahmedabad. According to reports, a woman faints at a polling station in Maninagar.

Gujarat voter turnout till 11 am

The voter turnout went up to 24.35% as the polling day picked up pace. With 30.27% voter turnout, Banaskantha tops the list followed by 27.77% in Bardoli, and 27.52% in Bharuch till 11 am. 

BJP women in Jamnagar

BJP Jamanagar MLA Rivaba Jadeja casts her voter in Jamnagar. Meanwhile, Jamnagar BJP candidate Poonam Maadam also casts vote at Navagam Ghed area in Jamnagar today along with her family.

Officials shared that the malfunction in EVMs was first noticed in Ward No. 2 and Ward No. 13 polling booths in Navsari, where voters had queued up early in the morning to cast their votes.

This delay has led to long queues and inconvenience for voters. Election officials and technicians are on-site to resolve the EVM glitches promptly and ensure that voting resumes without further interruptions.

One of Kshatriya protest leaders, Yurajsinh Jadeja was seen exercising their franchise at Gondal.

Mumtaz Patel, daughter of late veteran Congress leader Ahmed Patel casts her vote in Bharuch.

Gujarat BJP state president and candidate for Navsari Lok Sabha seat CR Patil cast his vote along with his family in Bhatar, Surat.

Around 60 officials are monitoring more than 50,000 polling booths from a central command centre.

Gujarat voter turnout

As the clock ticks to 10 a.m. today, the state witnesses 9.87% voting in the initial two hours from 7a.m. to 9a.m. In the first two hours (7-9 a.m.) of polling day, Banaskantha recorded the highest voter turnout with 12.28% while lowest voter turnout witnessed in the smallest constituency of Gujarat- Ahmedabad (W).

Top leaders vote

Adorning the saffron jacket, Prime Minister Narendra Modi exercised his franchise in Ahmedabad at Nishan Vidhyalaya in Ranip.

“I appeal to people to vote. I am in Gujarat and have to go to Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. I congratulate the Election Commission for the successful first two election phases. Earlier, there used to be violence during voting, but now it's not the case. The process is election-friendly. This is an example for all democracies of the world. This is a case study.” he said.

As the Prime Minister arrived at the polling booth, the air resonated with chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’. He was welcomed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who presented him with a saffron khes. Local residents also displayed enthusiasm, welcoming Prime Minister Modi with traditional dhol-nagara beats.

Before casting his vote, Prime Minister Modi gave autographs to the locals gathered at the polling station.

Later in the day, Home Minister Shah is scheduled to cast his vote at 9:15 a.m. at Naranpura.

Other leaders including Union Minister Parshottam Rupala are set to vote in Amreli, CR Patil and Harsh Sanghavi in Navsari, Mansukh Mandaviya in Bhavnagar, and former CM Vjay Rupani in Rajkot.

UP governor Anandiben Patel also reportedly casts her vote at Shilaj Primary School in Ahmedabad today.

While Banaskantha Congress candidate Geni Thakor exercised franchise today, Vadodara Congress Jaypalsinh Padhiyar casts his vote in Vadodara.

The electoral landscape in Gujarat is marked by intense competition, with 266 candidates representing various political ideologies and parties like BJP, Congress, and others in the fray.

Notably, 247 male candidates are contesting against 19 female candidates, underscoring the diversity of voices in this electoral fray. It's worth mentioning that BJP secured victories in all 26 seats in Gujarat in both the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

25 Gujarat constituencies

A total of 25 constituencies are set to undergo polling including Kutch, Banaskantha, Patan, Mahesana, Sabarkantha, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad east, Ahmedabad west, Surendranagar, Rajkot, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Anand, Kheda, Panchmahal, Dahod, Vadodara, Chhotaudepur, Bharuch, Bardoli, Navsari, and Valsad.

(With inputs from IANS)

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