LS polls: Over 50 pc voter turnout till 3 pm in gujarat

Nearly 50.32 per cent of the total 4.51 crore voters exercised their franchise till 3 pm in Gujarat where polling was underway in all 26 Lok Sabha seats of the state.

There were complaints of technical glitches in EVMs at some booths, an election official said.

The polling, which began at 7 am, was going on peacefully, he said, adding that no untoward incident was reported so far.

Till 3 pm, an average 50.32 per cent polling was recorded, he said.

Braving the scorching heat, people from all walks of life were coming out to exercise their democratic right as long queues were seen outside several polling booths.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, party veteran L K Advani and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel cast their votes in the state.

Shah urged people to come out in large numbers to vote during this "festival of democracy".

State additional chief electoral officer Ashok Manek said some EVMs were replaced after complaints of technical problems.

"The EVM machines malfunctioned in some parts of the state. We quickly replaced them and the voting process was not affected," he said.

A detailed report on faulty EVMs will be released after the polling ends in the evening, he added.