Counting Of Votes To Begin In Gujarat, Himachal At 8 A.M.

The electoral battle in Gujarat nears its culmination, with the counting of votes for the Legislative Assembly about to begin at 37 centres across the state on Dec. 8.

Exit polls for Gujarat, across the board, project a BJP clean sweep in its bastion and a return to power for the seventh time. The home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to the polls in two phases to elect MLAs for 182 Vidhan Sabha seats. The overall voter turnout was 64.3%, around 4% less than what was seen in the 2017 polls.

The traditional contest between the BJP and Congress in Gujarat saw a new entrant this time in the AAP. Pre-result surveys show BJP managing a comfortable lead to cross the winning mark of 92 seats in the state, whereas Congress will be a distant second, while AAP will barely manage to make some inroads in the western state this time.

Significant names in the fray include the incumbent Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Patidar leader Hardik Patel, Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani, Isudan Gadhvi of AAP, and Rivaba Jadeja—wife of Ravindra Jadeja, among others.