I Hope Gujarat Witnesses Record Turnout In Assembly Polls: PM Modi

Voting for the 182-member Gujarat Assembly will be held in two phases, December 1 and 5, and ballots will be counted on December 8.

PM Narendra Modi addressing people in Sundar Nagar during his rally

Source : Getty

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said he hoped that Gujarat will witness a record voter turnout in the upcoming state polls, particularly among the youth and first-time voters. Modi's remarks came after Jam Saheb Shatrushalya Singhji, scion of the Jamnagar royal family, cast his vote at his residence in the presence of the deputy collector and other election officials on Monday.

Tagging a tweet by the Press Information Bureau in Gujarat, Modi said, "I commend Jam Saheb Shri Shatrusalyasinhji for this remarkable passion towards the festival of democracy." "Inspired by him, I hope Gujarat witnesses a record turnout, particularly among young and first time voters," the prime minister said.

In its tweet posted on Monday, the PIB in Gujarat had said, "Jam Saheb Namdar Maharaja Shatrushalya Singhji of Jamnagar cast his vote today at his residence in the presence of the Deputy Collector and other election officials." "On this occasion, Jam Saheb appealed to the citizens of Gujarat to vote in a large number," it said.

Voting for the 182-member Gujarat Assembly will be held in two phases -- December 1 and 5 -- and ballots will be counted on December 8.

BJP Suspending Candidates Fighting Independent

Cracking the whip, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat on Tuesday suspended 12 party leaders, including 6-term MLA Madhu Shrivastav and two former legislators, for filing nominations as independent candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections after they were denied tickets.

The development came days after seven BJP leaders were suspended for filing nominations as independent candidates for the first phase of Assembly polls to be held on December 1.

Now, 12 more leaders, who are contesting against official candidates in Assembly seats that will go to polls in the second phase on December 5, have been suspended by Gujarat BJP president CR Paatil, said a release by the state unit of the party.

Notably, November 21 was the last date to withdraw nominations for the 93 seats that will vote in the second phase. None of the BJP rebels opted out of the poll race, inviting disciplinary action from the party.

These leaders, who will now fight against BJP candidates on 11 seats of north and central Gujarat, include sitting MLA of Vaghodia (Vadodara district) Madhu Shrivastav.

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)