Polling begins amid tight security in Gujarat
Ahmedabad | Thursday, Apr 30 2009 IST
 

Amid tight security, polling began at a brisk pace this morning in 26 Lok Sabha constituencies of Gujarat, where 3.65 crore electorate are listed to exercise their franchise in 42,568 booths.

Prominent among the 359 candidates, including 26 women, are BJP's prime ministerial nominee Lal Krishna Advani (Gandhinagar), Union Ministers Shankersinh Vaghela (Panchmahal), Naranbhai Rathwa (Chhota-Udaipur) and Dinsha Patel (Kheda) and noted danseuse and independent candidate Mallika Sarabhai (Gandhinagar). Among the state's 47 'crorepati' candidates is real estate dealer and Krantikari Jai Hind Sena nominee Khimjibhai Patadiya (Surendranagar), who has declared total assets worth Rs 514 crore earning him the status as the third richest candidate in the country.

Election office sources said 85 companies of para-military forces, besides 60,000 police personnel, assisted by Home Guard jawans and volunteers of Gram Rakshak Dal and Sagar Rakshak Dal, had been deployed to ensure ''free, fair and transparent polling'' under the supervision of 59 Election Commission observers, assisted by 7,647 micro-observers among 2.13 lakh polling personnel. There are a total of 6,000 sensitive booths.

Reports from different districts said voters queued up much before the booths were opened at 0700 hours to escape from the Sun fury as severe heat wave is lashing the state with mercury touching 44 degree celsius at many places. Polling will conclude at 1700 hours.

Besides Congress and BJP, minor players like Nationalist Congress Party, CPI, CPI(M), Bahujan Samaj Party, MahaGujarat Janata Party, Samajwadi Party and Indian Justice Party also fielded their candidates in the state known for its bipolar politics for decades.

Mr Advani, seeking election for the fifth time from Gandhinagar, is a voter in Khanpur area with the state BJP office as his address, while Chief Minister Narendra Modi is a voter from Ranip area.

Making her electoral debut, Ms Mallika Sarabhai, daughter of pioneering space scientist late Vikram Sarabhai and renowned dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai, is listed to cast her vote at a primary school near her Usmanpura residence here.

The country's lone single-voter booth is located in the Gir forest, the only abode of Asiatic lions. The Election Commission has deployed a four-member polling team to facilitate Mahant Bharatdas Guru Darshandas, priest at the temple located at Banej village in Una segment of Junagadh constituency, to cast his vote.

On an experimental basis, the commission also provided Braille ballots in Banaskantha, Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad East and Ahmedabad West constituencies for the benefit of blind voters.

-- (UNI) -- 30DR4.xml

 

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