Gujarat Assembly Polls begin today: Timing, Constituencies, Candidates, all you need to know

Looking back, the BJP won 48 in the 2017 election, the Congress won 40, while one seat was bagged by an independent candidate out of the total 89 seats. Aam Aadmi Party, which is a rather fresh contender in the state where the BJP and Congress have been traditional arch enemies, is also being considered a prominent contestant this year.

Ahmedabad:The first phase of Assembly Elections 2022 in Gujarat is all set to kick off on Thursday, even as the poll campaigns were highly charged with confidence from all the three chief contenders in the fray -- the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, and the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP).

Gujarat Assembly Polls begin today: Timing, Constituencies, Candidates, all you need to know

With its power intact in the state over the last 27 years, the BJP has stuck to its age-old agenda of using religion, temples, and national security as its honed political tools during the poll campaigns. The BJP's top brass including PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and UP CM Yogi Adityanath marked a prominent presence in the state as they rallied through several cities for campaigning.

Aam Aadmi Party, which is a rather fresh contender in the state where the BJP and Congress have been traditional arch enemies, is looking to cash in on anti-incumbency and issues like inflation and unemployment to get to power. Congress seems to be following AAP's lead too, though Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra is also being considered an effective initiative that might reflect in the results of the upcoming polls.

As the state is all set for a fierce battle on various seats across the state, here is a glimpse of everything you need to know about these crucial elections:

A total of 788 candidates are in the fray in the first phase of the elections on 89 seats spread across 19 districts of South Gujarat and Kutch-Saurashtra regions. Out of the total 788 candidates, 70 are women including nine fielded by the BJP, six by the Congress, and five by the AAP.

The voting will begin at 8 am on Thursday and end at 5 pm.

Apart from the BJP, Congress, and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), 36 other political outfits, including the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) have also fielded candidates in various seats which will go to polls in the first phase. The BJP and Congress are contesting in all 89 seats. The new poll entrant AAP is contesting 88 seats as its candidate from the Surat East constituency withdrew his candidature at the last moment.

Gujarat Assembly Polls begin today: Timing, Constituencies, Candidates, all you need to know

Looking back, the BJP won 48 in the 2017 election, the Congress won 40, while one seat was bagged by an independent candidate out of the total 89 seats.

AAP's chief ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi is contesting from the Khambhalia seat in the Devbhumi Dwarka district of Saurashtra region. AAP state unit president Gopal Italia is contesting from Katargam in Surat. Among other prominent candidates in the first phase are Rivaba Jadeja, the wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, who is contesting from Jamnagar (North), and BJP MLAs Harsh Sanghavi and Purnesh Modi from different seats in Surat and five-time MLA Parshottam Solanki from Bhavnagar (Rural).

Voting will be held across 14,382 polling stations, of which 3,311 are in the urban and 11,071 in rural areas, the poll body said in a release. The election body has set up 89 'model polling stations', as many stations are run by differently-abled people, 89 eco-friendly polling stations, and 611 are run by women. There are also 18 polling stations run by the youth, it said.

Gujarat Assembly Polls begin today: Timing, Constituencies, Candidates, all you need to know

A total of 34,324 ballot units, an equal number of control units, and 38,749 Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines will be used for the election in the first phase, the release said. A total of 2,20,288 trained officers and employees will be on duty for the smooth conduct of the election process, it said.

Here is the list of constituencies going for polls in the first phase, with a brief glance at the dynamics therein.

Jamnagar North

The first on the list of constituencies to vote in the first phase is Jamnagar North where the battle is between BJP's Rivaba Jadeja, cricketer Ravindra Jadeja's wife, Congress' Bipendrasinh Jadeja, and AAP's Karsan Karmur. The BJP dropped the sitting MLA Dharmendrasinh Merubha who won the seat by defeating Congress candidate Ahir Jivanbhai Karubhai Kumbharvadiya in the 2017 Assembly elections.

The seat came to the limelight after a political tussle between two members of the same family came to the fore with Rivaba, who is making her electoral debut, contesting from the BJP, and her sister-in-law and father-in-law campaigning for the Congress candidate.

Morbi

Morbi recently caught some bad limelight following the tragic incident wherein a suspension bridge fell into the river claiming the lives of over 130 people, thereby creating a setback for the ruling BJP here.

The BJP has fielded Kantilal Amrutiya, who replaced sitting MLA and Cabinet Minister Brijesh Merja, and he is up against Congress' Jayantilal Jerajbhai Patel and AAP's Pankaj Ransariya.

Khambalia

The seat becomes significant as the AAP's chief ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi is contesting from this seat where he is fielded against BJP's Mulu Ayar Bera and Congress' Vikram Madam. The battle is expected to be triangular with a close contest between the BJP and AAP. Congress will also appear strong here as the party candidate Ahir Vikrambhai Arjanbhai Madam had won the seat in 2017.

Rajkot West

The BJP has given the Rajkot-West ticket to two-time Deputy Mayor Darshita Shah who is up against AAP's Dinesh Joshi and Congress's Mansukhbhai. The seat is considered a bastion of the BJP which the party has not lost since 1985.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had contested the 2002 by-poll from Rajkot West. Former chief minister Vijay Rupani had also contested from the seat in the 2017 Assembly elections.

Dwarka

Pabubha Manek, the BJP candidate who has not lost a single election in the last 32 years, is up against Congress' Malubhai Kandoria, and AAP candidate Nakum Lakhmanbhai Boghabhai. Manek had won the first three elections as an independent (1990, 95, 98), then joined the Congress and won the seat in 2002. Later, he won the Assembly elections of 2007, 2012, and 2017 on a BJP ticket.

In the 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls, Manek won the seat by defeating Congress' Ahir Meraman Markhi with a margin of 5,739 votes.

Talala

The BJP has fielded Bhagwan Barad from the seat who is contesting against AAP's Devendra Solanki and Congress' Mansinh Dodiya. Barad had won the seat in the 2017 Assembly polls. He had resigned as the Congress MLA from Talala Gir Somnath district and had joined the BJP following which he was given a ticket from the same seat.

Katargam (Surat)

The seat is all set to witness an interesting battle this time in which AAP has fielded its state president Gopal Italia who is considered to be an influential Patidar leader. He had played a key role in the Patidar quota agitation in 2015. He will be in the fray against Congress candidate Kaplesh Variya, who belongs to the Prajapati community (OBC), and BJP candidate Vinodbhai Amrishbhai Mordiya.

Porbandar

A tough battle is expected in Porbandar too, where the BJP has fielded its sitting MLA and four-time winner Babu Bokhiria yet again. He is pitted against Congress candidate Arjun Modhwadia and AAP's Jeevan Jungi. Bokhiria had won the seat in 1995, 1998, 2012, and 2017. In 2002 and 2007, Bokhiria was defeated by his arch-rival and former Gujarat Congress president Arjun Modhwadia. Both are face-to-face this time too.

Kutiyana (Porbandar)

Kandhalbhai Jadeja from the Samajwadi Party is a prominent contestant here. He had won the 2017 Assembly elections on the NCP ticket, however, quit the party recently after he was denied a ticket. He is pitted against BJP's Dheliben Odedra, AAP's Bhimabhai Makvana, and Congress' Nathabhai Odedra.