51% turnout in Guj bypolls, lower in Modi's Vadodara seat

Gujarat has registered a 50.95 per cent voter turnout in byelections held for nine Assembly and one Lok Sabha seats yesterday, as per the final data released by the Election Commission today.
While Vadodara Lok Sabha seat, vacated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recorded a voter turnout which is significantly lower than the one in recently held Lok Sabha elections, the polling percentage in Maninagar, from where Modi had resigned as an MLA, was lowest among all nine Assembly seats at 36 per cent.
"Gujarat has registered 50.95 per cent voters' turnout in bypolls held in one Lok Sabha and nine Assembly seats," the state Election Commission said in a statement.

Vadodara registered 45.30 per cent polling compared to 70.75 per cent in general election in April, it said.
"Maninagar in Ahmedabad, from where (Narendra) Modi had resigned as MLA, registered the lowest polling amongst the nine assembly seats at 35.98 per cent. Limkheda seat in tribal Dahod district registered the highest polling at 65.52 per cent," it said.
Other Assembly constituencies with final polling figures are: Deesa (62.22 per cent), Tankara (60.25 per cent), Khambhalia (57.33 per cent), Mangrol (59.10 per cent), Talaja (49.55 per cent), Anand (58.43 per cent) and Matar (55.28 per cent).

"In the bypolls, 54.91 per cent male and 46.68 per cent female voters exercised their right to vote," the election commission said.

The by-elections were necessitated after sitting BJP MLAs got elected to Lok Sabha whereas Modi vacated Vadodara seat while retaining Varanasi seat which he had also won in the general election.
Counting for all the seats will be held on September 16.
In the last Assembly election in 2012, the overall turn-out was 71.32 per cent.