Guj records 2nd highest voter turnout in history

Gujarat recorded the second highest voting turnout of 63.31 per cent in its polling history during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The highest ever voting registered in the state was 63.77 in 1967 general elections.

While the voting across all the 26 constituencies of the state remained peaceful on April 30, it did not turn out to be a good day for BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. On directions of the Election Commission of India (ECI) the Ahmedabad crime branch on Wednesday filed an FIR against Modi for poll code violation. The action was initiated against Modi as he had held a press meet near the polling booth in Ranip area of Ahmedabad after casting his vote. All through out the interaction he kept brandishing his party symbol ‘lotus’ along with his inked finger. The Ahmedabad crime branch in investigating the case.

According to the final figures of voter turnout released by the Gujarat chief electoral officer, highest voting was recorded in tribal seat of Bardoli (74.59%) followed by Bharuch (74.54%), Valsad (74.09%), Chhota Udaipur and (71.15%).  The seat from which Modi is contesting, Vadodara was also among the high voter turnout seats with 70.57 per cent polling. Lowest voting was recorded in Porbander (52.31%), Amreli (54.21%) and Surendranagar (56.7%).

Gujarat has over 40.5 million registered voters with 21.2 million males, 19.36 million females and 285 in others category.  As per the data released by the  Gujarat chief electoral officer, 25.68 million people cast their votes which include 14.18 million men and 11.50 million women. Voting was done in 45,380 polling stations across the state involving over a million government officials. Elaborate security arrangements were made with more than 100,000 police and para-military personnel being deployed to ensure free and fair polls. The ECI had identified 23 per cent booths out of 45,380 polling stations as vulnerable and critical.

The important candidates for BJP in fray from Gujarat include Modi from Vadodara, L K Advani from Gandhinagar seat. For the Congress Union ministers Bharatsinh Solanki and Tushar Chaudhary are contesting from Anand and Bardoli seats respectively. Also contesting from Kheda seat is union minister Dinsha Patel who was earlier reluctant to fight Lok Sabha polls, but agreed at the insistence of the party high command at the last minute. Senior Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry is contesting from Vadodara seat against Modi.

The fate of 334 candidates contesting for 26 seats have been sealed in EVMs. BJP has fielded 26 candidates while Congress has nominated 25 candidates. For one seat in Porbander Congress has entered into pre-poll alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Other parties like Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Janta Dal (U), Samajwadi Party (SP) have fielded candidates for various seats.

Interestingly, only 16 women candidates are contesting the Lok Sabha election in 2014 from Gujarat, as against 26 in 2009. BJP has fielded four women candidates against one each by Congress, AAP, CPi and Voter’s Party. BSP has two women candidates while six women are contesting a independents.

Out of the 334 candidates 66 have criminal cases pending against them, while 78 are millionaires (21 from BJP, Congress 20, AAP 12 and BSP 1).

Voting took place amid extreme heat conditions in the state, with the maximum temperature remaining above 43 degrees Celsius in many parts.

Voter Turnout in Gujarat
Year	Turnout
2009	47.90%
2004	45.20%
1999	47.00%
1998	59.30%
1996	35.90%
1991	44.00%
1989	54.60%
1984	57.90%
1980	55.40%
1977	59.20%
1971	55.50%
1967	63.70%
1962	58.00%