Saurashtra-Kutch Elections Exit Poll Live Updates: BJP set to sweep the region with 31-37 seats, Congress distant second

Saurashtra-Kutch Elections Exit Poll Live Updates

The elections to the 182-member Gujarat Assembly were held in two phases on December 9 and 14. The counting of votes will be on December 18. Photo: Narendramodi.in

New Delhi: Polling for the second phase of Gujarat Assembly Elections 2017 ended on Thursday and with this, the fates of the candidates were sealed. Now, who is chosen by the voters and who is dumped, we all come to know about it on December 18 when the votes will be counted. Two important regions of Gujarat are Kutch and Saurashtra. The region has 54 seats. With the population of 2,092,371 and covering an area of 45,674 km², Kutch is the largest district in India. It has 10 Talukas, 939 villages, and 6 Municipalities. If we talk about Saurashtra, it covers about a third of Gujarat state, notably 12 districts of Gujarat, including Rajkot District. Here are LIVE UPDATES of exit poll for the Kutch and Saurashtra regions:

• Exit poll predicts 49 per cent vote share for BJP and 41 per cent for Congress. With this vote share BJP may get 31-37 seats, Congress is likely to win 16-22.

• Voting for Gujarat Assembly Election ends as the second phase polling concludes
• Congres Ave Che, Bhajpa Jave che, says Congress' Priyanka Chaturvedi
• Will be a big victory of the BJP: Party spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao
• First cut to be out at 5:30 pm. (WATCH LIVE COVERAGE HERE)
• The Gujarat poll results are keenly awaited as both the ruling BJP and the Congress have run a long and intensive campaign with their star campaigners, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi respectively, leading from the front.
• A respectable show by the Congress will energise opposition ranks and embolden it in its fight against the BJP, which may be left dispirited by a poor show in Modi's and its chief Amit Shah's home turf.

For Central Gujarat Exit Poll CLICK HERE For North Gujarat Exit Poll CLICK HERE For South Gujarat Exit Poll CLICK HERE Saurashtra has seven districts (Porbandar, Amreli, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Surendranagar and Rajkot) and 48 Seats. In 2012, the BJP won 33 seats from Saurashtra region. The BJP dominated Kutch region too. Party won five of six seats. However, the saffron party is facing strong challenge this time in both Saurashtra and Kutch region. Patidars dominate Saurashtra and aggressive campaign by Hardik Patel has made a dent in BJP's vote base. Patels constitute 12 per cent of Gujarat's population and they can swing election results in Saurashtra. Patidars have been agitating against the ruling BJP government for past two years demanding reservation not only in government jobs and but also college admissions. Issue like shortage of drinking water and presence of sizeable Muslim population in Kutch region make the electoral battle tougher for the ruling state government. Candidates with criminal background in the second phase Candidates with Criminal Cases - Out of 822 candidates analyzed, 101 (12%) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves. Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases - 64 (8%) candidates have declared serious criminal cases, including cases related to murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, crimes against women etc. Candidates with cases related to murder - 2 candidates have declared cases related to murder (Indian Penal Code Section-302)