Counting of votes begins in Gujarat, BJP eyes sixth term

Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], Dec 18 (ANI): Amid tight security, the counting of votes for 182-seat Gujarat Assembly began at 8 am on Monday to elect the new government for the state.

Security men have been deployed outside the counting centres to avoid any untoward situations.

The final results are going to be out at 5 pm and will be posted on Election Commission's website, although trends by 12 pm will make it clear which is coming to power.

Both the ruling Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are confident of their victory.

A total of 977 candidates were in the fray in the first phase of elections, out of which 57 were women while, in the second phase, 851 candidates fought, including 69 women candidates.

Out of 4.35 crore voters, 2.97 crore voters exercised their franchise in the elections this time.

Compared to 2012's voter turnout of 72 percent, a three percent dip - 68.41 - was witnessed in this election.

The voting in the first phase of the Gujarat polls took place on 24,689 polling stations while in the second phase, a total number of 25,558 polling stations were used.

In 2012, Congress bagged 61 seats while the BJP won 115 and began its fifth straight term.

The incumbent state Chief Minister Vijay Rupani-led BJP is seeking a sixth straight term in office now, while the Congress is aspiring to stage a comeback to power after being in the opposition for over two decades.

The state saw aggressive campaigning from the Congress and the BJP, both leaving no stone unturned to ensure victory.

While majority of exit polls have predicted BJP's win, the Congress is hopeful of bagging votes of influential Patidar community, which up till now have backed the saffron party, and overthrowing BJP from 22 years of governance in the state. (ANI)