Narendra Modi-Amit Shah-led BJP leaders slammed the Congress for talking about ‘Rambhakt Gujaratis’ for personally attacking the Prime Minister. Arvind Kejriwal campaigned in Ahmedabad and called for change. Congress leaders tried to focus on inflation and unemployment. On the day of the first phase of polling in Gujarat on Thursday, the three parties tried their best to make an impact in the 89 assembly constituencies of the first phase as well as campaigning in the second phase polling areas.
According to the Election Commission, 59.05 percent of votes were cast in 89 assembly constituencies of 19 districts out of 182 constituencies in Gujarat till 6 pm. The commission hopes that the voting rate will increase a little more if the complete information comes from the remote areas. Five years ago, the voter turnout in the Gujarat assembly elections was 69.01 percent. Compared to that, the officials of the commission admit that the votes are less in the first phase. Most of the votes were cast in Opi (72.32 per cent), Narmada (68.09%) and Navsari (65.91%) districts.
Percentage of votes
Saurashtra areas like Jamnagar (53.98 per cent), and Rajkot (57.48 percent) received fewer votes. Last time too, BJP had to suffer in the Saurashtra area. Apart from Saurashtra, the BJP leadership is worried about the low turnout, especially in Surat (57.83%). Congress has complained to the Commission that the BJP has captured a booth and voted in Surendra Nagar.
While Modi-Shah compared Ravan to Prime Minister and targeted Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge during the polls, Congress leaders including Kharge targeted the Modi government over the price of flour from petrol-diesel, edible oil. Rahul Gandhi also tweeted that crude oil prices have fallen by 25 per cent in the last six months. There is an opportunity to reduce the price of petrol-diesel by 10 rupees per litre but not even a rupee has come down. According to Kharge, crude oil prices are at a 10-month low. But the looting of the BJP is going on. The Congress alleged that the price of edible oil has increased by twenty per cent in the last year.
Virtually in response to this, BJP MP, actor Paresh Rawal campaigned in Gujarat, saying, “Gas prices will go down. Prices of things will go up. But what if Bangladeshis and Rohingyas start living in your neighbourhood? What if Bengalis from Bangladesh come to your side and start cooking fish?”
Modi’s response to being compared to Ravan on polling day
On an auspicious day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi fought Ravan-Ram.
Modi is the face of the BJP in any vote, so Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge compared Modi with Dashanan Ravan. Modi did not spend the last three days. When the Prime Minister said yesterday at Kalol in Gujarat – ‘Gujarat is the land of Ram devotees, the people of Gujarat will not accept anyone from there to be called Ravana’ – then the voting in 89 constituencies of the state is going on in full swing.