Urban voters should come forward: Guj chief polling officer on low turnout

Gujarat's Chief Electoral Officer P Bharathi raised concerns over the 'low' voter turnout in urban areas in the first phase of the Assembly polls on December 1

Gujarat's Chief Electoral Officer P Bharathi on Sunday raised concerns over the 'low' voter turnout in urban areas in the first phase of the Assembly polls on December 1.

"Every voter, especially in urban areas, should come forward and vote enthusiastically. The Chief Election Commissioner is also working tirelessly to make the urban youth shed their apathy and vote," the chief electoral officer said, adding that the poll panel chief has also appealed to the urban voters to exercise their democratic right.

The first phase of polling in Gujarat saw an overall turnout of 63.14 per cent.

The overall voter turnout till 9 am was 4.94 per cent and it rose to 19.24 per cent at 11 am and 36.65 per cent at 1 pm.

At 3 pm, the overall voter turnout was recorded at 48.65 per cent.

The voting began at 8 am in 89 constituencies spread across 19 districts of Kutch, Saurashtra and South Gujarat regions.

The polling was deemed brisk to moderate across different Assembly segments.

According to data shared by the Election Commission, Narmada recorded the highest voter turnout at 78.24 per cent while Botad recorded the lowest at 57.58 per cent.

For a smooth conduct of the second phase of polling on Sunday, the CEO urged voters to reach their designated polling booths early and cast their votes before 5 pm.

"Voters should not carry their mobile phones to the polling booths," she added.

The second and final phase will see polling for 93 Assembly seats, with 833 candidates across parties in fray.

The counting of votes will be done on December 8.