Gandhinagar, Oct 13 Counting of votes for the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) elections and polls to Thara and Okha municipalities in Gujarat began on Tuesday morning.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governed the GMC for the last five years. This time, the BJP, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party are the main contenders in Gandhinagar.
Polling for the three local bodies was held on Sunday.
The counting of votes began at 9 am on Tuesday.
The GMC elections were held for all 44 seats across 11 wards, with 130 candidates in the fray. The civic body has around 2.59 lakh voters.
The Gandhinagar civic body last went to polls in October 2021, when the BJP won 41 of the 44 seats, while Congress secured two seats and the AAP one.
In Okha municipality in Devbhumi Dwarka district, counting is underway for 32 seats across nine wards, while four seats had been won unopposed. A total of 75 candidates contested the remaining seats.
In Thara municipality in Banaskantha district, votes are being counted for 24 seats across six wards, where 59 candidates were in the fray.
According to figures released by the State Election Commission, Gandhinagar recorded a voter turnout of 59.25 per cent, while Thara registered 81.18 per cent and Okha 63.27 per cent.
Voting was held peacefully, Joint Commissioner of the State Election Commission N K Damor said after polling.
Bypolls were also held for one seat each in the Kheralu, Chhota Udepur and Bayad municipalities, besides seats in various district and taluka panchayats across Gujarat, and counting is also underway for those seats.
The elections were conducted using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
(PTI News)
