Gujarat Assembly Elections 2017: Voting for the first phase begins

Voting for the first phase of the Gujarat assembly polls began on Saturday on 89 seats of Saurashtra and South Gujarat regions.

Around 2.12 crore voters would be exercising their franchise in Gujarat to choose between the ruling BJP and the Congress.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who is contesting from Rajkot (West), and Congress’ Shaktisinh Gohil (Mandvi) and Paresh Dhanani (Amreli) are among the promising candidates.

The election is viewed as a prestige battle for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a litmus test for the leadership of soon-to-be Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

Gandhi emerged as the Congress’ pivot to take on the might of the Prime Minister on his home turf.

While Modi addressed about 15 rallies, Gandhi spent more than seven days in Saurashtra and south Gujarat, addressing a number of meetings.