Tag: Gujarat AAP

  • First phase of Gujarat Assembly elections in 89 seats tomorrow: All you need to know

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: Voting will be held on Thursday for the first phase of Gujarat Assembly elections in 89 seats spread across 19 districts in Saurashtra-Kutch and southern parts of the state where 788 candidates are in the fray. Campaigning for the first phase of the elections in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled state ended at 5 pm on Tuesday.

    Voting will be held between 8 am and 5 pm on Thursday across 14,382 polling stations, the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said in a release.

    Out of the total 4,91,35,400 registered voters in Gujarat, 2,39,76,670 are eligible to cast their votes in the first phase of the elections.

    These include 5.74 lakh voters in the age group of 18-19 years, and 4,945 above the age of 99 years, the office of the state CEO said.

    Out of the 89 seats going to polls in the first phase, the BJP won 48 in the 2017 election, the Congress had won 40, while one seat was bagged by an independent candidate.

    Who are contesting?

    Apart from the BJP, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), 36 other political outfits, including the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) have also fielded candidates in various seats which will go to polls in the first phase.

    The BJP and Congress are contesting in all the 89 seats.
    The new poll entrant AAP is contesting 88 seats. Its candidate from Surat East constituency had withdrawn his candidature, leaving the party with one less seat to contest in the first phase
    The BSP has fielded 57 candidates, BTP 14 and CPI-M four candidates.
    As many as 339 independents are also in the fray in the first phase of polls.
    Out of the total 788 candidates, 70 are women including nine fielded by the BJP, six by the Congress and five by the AAP.

    ALSO READ | How scrapped project can hurt BJP in Gujarat tribal seats

    Who are some of the prominent candidates?

    AAP’s chief ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi is contesting from Khambhalia seat in Devbhumi Dwarka district of Saurashtra region that goes to polls on Thursday.

    AAP state unit president Gopal Italia is contesting from Katargam in Surat.

    Among other prominent candidates in the first phase are Rivaba Jadeja, the wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, who is contesting from Jamnagar (North), and BJP MLAs Harsh Sanghavi and Purnesh Modi from different seats in Surat and five-time MLA Parshottam Solanki from Bhavnagar (Rural).

    Sitting Congress MLAs like Lalit Kagathara, Lalit Vasoya, Rutvik Makwana and Mohammad Javed Pirzada are among the candidates in fray in the first phase from seats in Saurashtra region.

    Seven-time MLA and veteran tribal leader Chhotu Vasava is contesting from Jhagadia in Bharuch.

    ALSO READ | Gujarat elections 2022: Morbi, Porbandar, Anand… here are 25 seats to watch out for

    Which are the key regions to look out for?

    With 54 seats, the Saurashtra-Kutch region will be crucial for the Congress as it seeks to better its performance.

    In the region, the Congress won 30 seats in 2017 compared to 16 in the 2012 election. The BJP, on the other hand, was reduced to 23 seats in 2017 as against 35 won by it in the previous election.

    In south Gujarat, the Congress in 2017 bettered its tally to 10 compared to six in the previous polls, while the BJPs tally dropped to 25 in the last election from 28 earlier.

    South Gujarat also comprises Surat city with 12 seats which have remained the BJP’s bastion since a long time.

    The BJP has this time found a challenger in the AAP which has fielded some of its senior state leaders from Surat and hopes to win seven-eight seats in the city, as declared by its national convener Arvind Kejriwal.

    Gujarat AAP’s state president Gopal Italia is the candidate from Katargam, general secretary Manoj Sorathiya from Karanj and Patidar community leader Alpesh Kathiriya from Varachha Road in Surat.

    ALSO READ | Trust in the KHAP: How caste equations are at the heart of the 2022 Gujarat elections  

    Who were the campaigners?

    The BJP, Congress and AAP leaders held roadshows and addressed public rallies as part of their high-pitched campaign in the run-up to the elections.

    The ruling party’s campaign was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states including Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Pramod Sawant (Goa), and a number of Union ministers and state leaders.

    For the AAP, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejiwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann were the most frequent campaigners.

    Apart from them, Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish Sosidoa and AAP’s Rajya Sabha members Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh also campaigned in Gujarat.

    The Congress banked on its local leaders for campaigning apart from Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and party’s national president Mallikarjun Kharge, who held some rallies in the last few days before the first phase of elections.

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held two rallies in the state this month by taking out time from his ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra.

    READ HERE | Bridge collapse to Bilkis Bano convicts’ remission: Top issues in Gujarat Assembly elections

    How will the polling process be carried out?

    Voting will be held across 14,382 polling stations, of which 3,311 are in the urban and 11,071 in rural areas, the poll body said in a release.

    The election body has set up 89 ‘model polling stations’, as many stations run by differently-abled people, 89 eco-friendly polling stations and 611 run by women.

    There are also 18 polling stations run by the youth, it said.

    A total 34,324 ballot units, an equal number of control units, and 38,749 Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines will be used for the election in the first phase, the release said.

    A total of 2,20,288 trained officers and employees will be on duty for the smooth conduct of the election process, it said.

    In the first phase, 27,978 presiding officers and 78,985 polling officers will be on duty, it said.

    ALSO READ | Battleground Gujarat: All eyes on AAP in three-way poll contest in bipolar state politics

    AHMEDABAD: Voting will be held on Thursday for the first phase of Gujarat Assembly elections in 89 seats spread across 19 districts in Saurashtra-Kutch and southern parts of the state where 788 candidates are in the fray. Campaigning for the first phase of the elections in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled state ended at 5 pm on Tuesday.

    Voting will be held between 8 am and 5 pm on Thursday across 14,382 polling stations, the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said in a release.

    Out of the total 4,91,35,400 registered voters in Gujarat, 2,39,76,670 are eligible to cast their votes in the first phase of the elections.

    These include 5.74 lakh voters in the age group of 18-19 years, and 4,945 above the age of 99 years, the office of the state CEO said.

    Out of the 89 seats going to polls in the first phase, the BJP won 48 in the 2017 election, the Congress had won 40, while one seat was bagged by an independent candidate.

    Who are contesting?

    Apart from the BJP, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), 36 other political outfits, including the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) have also fielded candidates in various seats which will go to polls in the first phase.

    The BJP and Congress are contesting in all the 89 seats.
    The new poll entrant AAP is contesting 88 seats. Its candidate from Surat East constituency had withdrawn his candidature, leaving the party with one less seat to contest in the first phase
    The BSP has fielded 57 candidates, BTP 14 and CPI-M four candidates.
    As many as 339 independents are also in the fray in the first phase of polls.
    Out of the total 788 candidates, 70 are women including nine fielded by the BJP, six by the Congress and five by the AAP.

    ALSO READ | How scrapped project can hurt BJP in Gujarat tribal seats

    Who are some of the prominent candidates?

    AAP’s chief ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi is contesting from Khambhalia seat in Devbhumi Dwarka district of Saurashtra region that goes to polls on Thursday.

    AAP state unit president Gopal Italia is contesting from Katargam in Surat.

    Among other prominent candidates in the first phase are Rivaba Jadeja, the wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, who is contesting from Jamnagar (North), and BJP MLAs Harsh Sanghavi and Purnesh Modi from different seats in Surat and five-time MLA Parshottam Solanki from Bhavnagar (Rural).

    Sitting Congress MLAs like Lalit Kagathara, Lalit Vasoya, Rutvik Makwana and Mohammad Javed Pirzada are among the candidates in fray in the first phase from seats in Saurashtra region.

    Seven-time MLA and veteran tribal leader Chhotu Vasava is contesting from Jhagadia in Bharuch.

    ALSO READ | Gujarat elections 2022: Morbi, Porbandar, Anand… here are 25 seats to watch out for

    Which are the key regions to look out for?

    With 54 seats, the Saurashtra-Kutch region will be crucial for the Congress as it seeks to better its performance.

    In the region, the Congress won 30 seats in 2017 compared to 16 in the 2012 election. The BJP, on the other hand, was reduced to 23 seats in 2017 as against 35 won by it in the previous election.

    In south Gujarat, the Congress in 2017 bettered its tally to 10 compared to six in the previous polls, while the BJPs tally dropped to 25 in the last election from 28 earlier.

    South Gujarat also comprises Surat city with 12 seats which have remained the BJP’s bastion since a long time.

    The BJP has this time found a challenger in the AAP which has fielded some of its senior state leaders from Surat and hopes to win seven-eight seats in the city, as declared by its national convener Arvind Kejriwal.

    Gujarat AAP’s state president Gopal Italia is the candidate from Katargam, general secretary Manoj Sorathiya from Karanj and Patidar community leader Alpesh Kathiriya from Varachha Road in Surat.

    ALSO READ | Trust in the KHAP: How caste equations are at the heart of the 2022 Gujarat elections  

    Who were the campaigners?

    The BJP, Congress and AAP leaders held roadshows and addressed public rallies as part of their high-pitched campaign in the run-up to the elections.

    The ruling party’s campaign was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states including Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Pramod Sawant (Goa), and a number of Union ministers and state leaders.

    For the AAP, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejiwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann were the most frequent campaigners.

    Apart from them, Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish Sosidoa and AAP’s Rajya Sabha members Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh also campaigned in Gujarat.

    The Congress banked on its local leaders for campaigning apart from Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and party’s national president Mallikarjun Kharge, who held some rallies in the last few days before the first phase of elections.

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held two rallies in the state this month by taking out time from his ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra.

    READ HERE | Bridge collapse to Bilkis Bano convicts’ remission: Top issues in Gujarat Assembly elections

    How will the polling process be carried out?

    Voting will be held across 14,382 polling stations, of which 3,311 are in the urban and 11,071 in rural areas, the poll body said in a release.

    The election body has set up 89 ‘model polling stations’, as many stations run by differently-abled people, 89 eco-friendly polling stations and 611 run by women.

    There are also 18 polling stations run by the youth, it said.

    A total 34,324 ballot units, an equal number of control units, and 38,749 Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines will be used for the election in the first phase, the release said.

    A total of 2,20,288 trained officers and employees will be on duty for the smooth conduct of the election process, it said.

    In the first phase, 27,978 presiding officers and 78,985 polling officers will be on duty, it said.

    ALSO READ | Battleground Gujarat: All eyes on AAP in three-way poll contest in bipolar state politics

  • Former Gujarat Congress MLA Indranil Rajguru joins AAP in Rajkot

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: In a blow to the Gujarat Congress, its former MLA Indranil Rajguru on Thursday joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Rajkot, citing that the party has emerged as the best option to serve the people and uproot the ruling BJP in the state.

    Rajguru showered praises on AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, claiming that the Delhi chief minister fights for the people, not for his party.

    “This attitude impressed me a lot. I was in the Congress from the beginning because I wanted to serve the people. The BJP has acquired power by fooling people, while the Congress has lost its ability to become an alternative. My only problem with the Congress is that it lacks the will to defeat the BJP,” he said.

    Rajguru won as Congress MLA from Rajkot-East seat in 2012. In 2017, he decided to quit his safe seat to fight the Assembly polls against the then Chief Minister Vijay Rupani from Rajkot-West seat. But he eventually lost to Rupani.

    In 2018, Rajguru resigned from the Congress, claiming that he was unhappy with the functioning of the party organisation. He had also alleged that party workers involved in anti-party activities during the polls were promoted instead of being punished.

    Rajguru rejoined the Congress in 2019 and also campaigned for the party candidates during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. “I am joining the AAP because it has emerged as the best option to serve the people in a better way. Moreover, I feel that only the AAP has the strength to uproot the BJP in Gujarat,” Rajguru said, adding that he was not keen on contesting the upcoming Assembly polls, expected to be held in December.

    Local Congress leader Vashram Sagathiya, who had served as the Leader of Opposition in the Rajkot Municipal Corporation, also joined the AAP.

  • Gujarat local body polls: BJP victorious Gandhinagar, Congress wins Bhanvad municipality

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: The ruling BJP on Tuesday retained the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) and won in two other civic bodies in Gujarat, while the Congress took away Bhanvad municipality in Devbhumi-Dwarka district from the saffron party.

    In the GMC, the BJP established its lead since the beginning of counting at 9 am, and eventually trumped its rivals Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) by a huge margin.

    The GMC poll was being seen as a litmus test for the BJP in the backdrop of its sudden and surprising decision to change the state’s chief minister and the entire cabinet recently, ahead of the state Assembly polls due next year.

    The party had registered a thumping win in the local bodies polls held in February this year.

    As per the final tally released by the State Election Commission (SEC), out of total 44 seats in the GMC, the BJP won 41 seats, the Congress-two and the AAP bagged one seat.

    Counting of votes was also held for three other municipalities – Okha and Bhanvad in Devbhumi-Dwarka district, and Thara municipality of Banaskantha district.

    As per the final figures released by the SEC after counting of votes, the BJP won 20 out of 24 seats in Thara, while the Congress got only four seats.

    The BJP retained Okha municipality by winning 34 out of 36 seats, while two seats went to the Congress.

    However, in a setback to the BJP, the Congress emerged victorious in Bhanvad by winning 16 out of 24 seats.

    The BJP, which managed to win only eight seats this time, was in power in Bhanvad since 1995. Voting for elections to the GMC and the three other municipalities took place on Sunday.

    Besides, bypolls to elect representatives on 104 vacant seats of various other local bodies were also held the same day.

    Of the total 2.8 lakh registered voters in Gandhinagar, 56.24 per cent had exercised their franchise.

    The voter turnout in Okha and Bhanvad was 55.07 and 62.27 per cent, respectively, while Thara had recorded an impressive 73.55 per cent turnout.

    In Gandhinagar, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had put in a concerted effort apart from traditional rivals BJP and Congress. A total of 161 candidates contested the GMC poll, with the BJP and Congress fighting in all 44 seats and the AAP in 40 seats.

    In the 2016 GMC elections, both the Congress and BJP won 16 seats each out of the total 32 seats existing at that time.

    Both the parties then had equal chances of forming the board through a draw of lots.

    However, at the last moment, Congress corporator Pravin Patel switched sides and helped the BJP come to power in the civic body.

    The latest election was originally supposed to be held in April this year, but it was postponed in view of the high number of COVID-19 cases emerging every day at that time.

  • Gujarat AAP chief Gopal Italia surrenders before police, gets bail

    By PTI
    AHMEDABAD: A local court on Tuesday granted a regular bail to Aam Aadmi Party’s Gujarat unit chief Gopal Italia after he surrendered before the police in a case related to unlawful assembly and a scuffle during a public meeting attended by the party’s MLA from Delhi, Atishi.

    Italia was granted regular bail by the court of additional chief metropolitan magistrate RB Marfatiya on a bond of Rs 10,000.

    An FIR was registered against Italia and three others with Gujarat University police station in Ahmedabad last month under sections 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to public servant), 143 (unlawful assembly), 146 (violence by an unlawful assembly), and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code, AAP’s legal cell head Pranav Thakkar said.

    They were booked following an alleged scuffle with the police at the public meeting, he said, adding that the AAP had obtained a persmission from the police to hold that meeting.

    Three other accused had earlier surrendered before the police and were granted bail by court.

    Italia’s anticipatory bail plea was rejected by a sessions court, after which he moved the High Court.

    After returning from Delhi, Italia surrendered before Ahmedabad police on early Tuesday morning, following which he was produced in the metropolitan court, Thakkar said.