"Apathy persists in cities": Election Commission on low voter turnout in Gujarat

The Election Commission on Monday made a special appeal to voters ahead of the second phase of Gujarat elections. In this appeal, it has been urged to remove the apathy regarding the voting seen in the urban areas in the last phase. In the first phase of Gujarat elections, the polling in Surat, Rajkot and Jamnagar was lower than the state average of 63.3 per cent, the Election Commission said in a statement. In the first phase of the 2017 elections in the state, the voter turnout was 66.75 percent.

The commission said, "While the polling percentage increased in many constituencies, the average polling figure fell short of urban apathy in these important districts. Even during the recent Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, the urban assembly constituency of Shimla showed the lowest turnout." The voter turnout was recorded at 62.53 percent (down by 13 percent) against the state average of 75.6 percent.

The high-voltage campaign for the second and final phase of the Gujarat assembly elections ended at 5 pm on Saturday. Over 800 candidates are in the fray in 93 constituencies spread across 14 districts in the north and central Gujarat, including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Gandhinagar. The counting of votes will take place on December 8. The first phase of polling was held on Thursday for 89 seats in Saurashtra, Kutch, and South Gujarat.