As Gujarat readies to vote for the first phase of the Assembly elections on December 1, things are falling into place for the second phase. A total of 1,621 candidates have filed their candidature. The deadline for the withdrawal of nomination papers has ended.
According to the Election Commission officials, 1,621 candidates will contest on a total of 182 seats. Voting for the second phase will take place on December 5.
In the first phase, 788 candidates will contest from 89 seats. The second phase will witness 833 candidates from 93 seats. The last date of withdrawal for the second phase was November 21.
The BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have fielded candidates in all 181 seats while the Congress has fielded candidates in 179 seats. The AAP had contested on all 182 seats but its candidate from Surat East withdrew after much drama. The NCP is contesting on three seats and the AIMIM has fielded 14 candidates.
In the first phase, elections will be held in the districts of Saurashtra-Kutch and South Gujarat. These districts include Valsad, Tapi, Dang, Navsari, Surat, Bharuch, Narmada, Botad, Bhavnagar, Amreli, Gir Somnath, Junagadh, Porbandar, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Morbi, Surendranagar and Kutch.
The contest in the second phase will shift to Central Gujarat and North Gujarat seats such as Banaskantha, Patan, Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Aravalli, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, Anand, Kheda, Mahisagar, Panchmahal, Dahod, Vadodara and Chota Udepur.
