Gujarat Election 2022: Campaigning for the first phase of Gujarat elections ends, voting will be held on December 1

Campaigning for the first phase of the Gujarat assembly elections, to be held on December 1, came to an end at 5 pm on Tuesday. As many as 788 candidates are in the fray for 89 seats in 19 districts of south Gujarat and the Kutch-Saurashtra regions, where polling will be held on Thursday. The state, which has traditionally seen a bipolar contest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, this time has a third player in the form of Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which won a total of 182 assembly seats. Candidates have been fielded on 181 seats.

Notable candidates in the first phase include Aam Aadmi Party's chief ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi, who is contesting from Khambhalia in Devbhoomi Dwarka district. Former Gujarat minister Purushottam Solanki, six-time MLA Kunvarji Bavaliya, Morbi's 'nayak' Kantilal Amritiya, cricketer Ravindra Jadeja's wife Rivaba and Gujarat AAP president Gopal Italia are also in the fray.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the BJP's campaign for the first phase, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party president JP Nadda, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and several other BJP leaders also addressed several rallies. With the AAP establishing itself as the main contender against the BJP, its national convenor and Delhi chief minister Kejriwal launched a massive campaign across the state within five months from July.

PM Modi was in Gujarat for two days on 27-28 November and addressed six rallies at Netrang, Kheda, Palitana, Anjar, Jamnagar and Rajkot. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was scheduled to hold roadshows for AAP in Limbdi, Wadhwan, Botad, Dasda and Viramgam on Tuesday. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge addressed rallies in Mehsana and Ahmedabad on Monday and in Dediapada and Bapunagar in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Polling will be held in 25,434 polling stations in the first phase of polling.

A total of 34,324 ballot units, 34,324 control units and 38,749 VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) will be used in the first phase, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer said in a release. A total of 2,20,288 trained officer-employees will be on duty.