Today the phase 1 of the Gujarat election polls has begun. A total of 21.2 million voters will decide the fate of the 977 candidates in phase 1 of the elections. The polling began at 8 A.M. this morning and will conclude at 6 P.M.
The Prime Minister of India appealed to the people of Gujarat to exercise their franchise. “Phase 1 of Gujarat polls begin. Urging all those voting today to turn out in record numbers and vote. I particularly call upon youngsters to exercise their franchise,” he tweeted.
The first phase of polling with 89 of 182 seats in Gujarat will be going into polls. From the 89, Saurashtra holds 48 seats, 6 in Kutch and 35 in South Gujarat.
Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) will be used in all the booths. There are a total of 50,128 voting booths in Gujarat.
The Chief Electoral Officer B. B. Swain said, “This is the first time an entire assembly poll will be conducted using the EVMs equipped with VVPAT.” The VVPAT machines which will be attached to the EVMs will allow voters to verify if their vote has gone to the intended candidate. This would ensure transparency in the voting process, he added.
From the VVPAT machines attached to the EVMs, a paper slip is generated with the name and symbol of the voted candidate. The voted choice will be displayed to the voter for seven seconds through a transparent window.
The total percentage of males and females taking part in phase 1 polls are 52 and 48 respectively. A total of 27,158 EVMs are used in phase 1 of the Gujarat polls. However, voting was interrupted in several places due to technical glitches in the EVMs. A total number of 33 EVMs in Rajkot, 24 EVMs in Surat and 141 EVMs in Rajpipla faced technical issues.
Security personnel are deployed to maintain a peaceful atmosphere. CCTV cameras are also installed for effective monitoring and surveillance.
Read More: BJP Manifesto For 2017 Gujarat Assembly Poll Elections
Read More: Congress Manifesto For 2017 Gujarat Assembly Poll Elections
