Gujarat polls: Second best voter turnout in state's history at 68.4%

This is better than initial estimates of 69% but 3% dip from 2012 polls

As the Election Commission (EC) released the figures for voter turnout in the second phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections, it shows a tad improvement over the initial estimates, standing at 70.26 per cent. This is the second best turnout in Gujarat's poll history. 

The initial estimates had pegged the second phase turnout at 68.7 per cent on Thursday. With this, the total voter turnout in this year's Assembly elections stands at 68.41 per cent combining both phases. 

The 2012 Assembly elections had seen the highest turnout in the history of Gujarat's polls — 71.32 per cent. Prior to that, the highest voting was recorded in 1995 with 64.39 per cent polling. 

The turnout in 2017 Assembly elections is thus the second best turnout in Gujarat's history. 

The second phase of the polls saw the battle shift to the urban centers — the second phase polling took place in 14 districts including major urban areas of Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Gandhinagar, apart from Banaskantha, Patan, Mehsana and Sabarkantha, among others. 

Among these, Banaskantha district saw the highest turnout at 75.25 per cent. It was at par with the turnout registered in this north Gujarat district in 2012 — which stood at 75.57 per cent. Banaskantha, that draws its name from the Banas river, had some heavyweight names in the contest — Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani contested the polls from Vadgam seat as an independent candidate this year. 

Banaskantha also houses the Ambaji temple that was visited by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the last day of campaigning when he took a seaplane from Ahmedabad's Sabarmati riverfront to reach Ambaji to offer his prayers. A major clash was reported in Chaniyana village of Banaskantha district on Thursday afternoon. 

The lowest turnout in the second phase was recorded in Mahisagar district at 65.45 per cent. This the central Gujarat district came into being only in January 2013 when it was carved out of Panchmahal and Kheda districts. 

The initial estimates had shown Dahod to be the district with the lowest turnout at 60 per cent. But, the figures improved significantly when the final numbers came in — now standing at 66.2 per cent. Similarly, Sabarkantha had ranked first in voter turnout (77 per cent) in the initial estimates released on Thursday evening. The turnout fell to 74.97 per cent in final calculations. 

Combining both phases, the agrarian district of Narmada recorded the highest turnout at 79.15 per cent while Devbhumi Dwarka district posted the lowest at 59.39 per cent. 

Districts such as Surat, Rajkot and Morbi, which have been crucial this election due to Patidar agitation as well as dissent over demonetisation and Goods & Services Tax (GST), had gone to polls in the first phase. They saw a final voter turnout of 66.39 per cent, 66.78 per cent and 73.19 per cent respectively. As against this, the said districts had reported a turnout of 69.58 per cent, 71 per cent and 74.19 per cent, respectively in the previous elections in 2012.

Urban districts like Ahmedabad and the state capital Gandhinagar, traditionally BJP strongholds, have seen lower turnouts compared to 2012 at 66.28 per cent and 71.37 per cent respectively. Vadodara, however, recorded a similar turnout when compared to 2012 elections. 

In 2012, BJP had won 16 out of 33 seats in North Gujarat, 24 out of 43 in Central Gujarat and 15 out of 19 in Ahmedabad. Congress, on the other hand, had managed 17 seats each in North or Central Gujarat regions and 4 in Ahmedabad.