'Festival of democracy celebrated with great pomp': PM Modi after casting vote in Gujarat Assembly Elections 2022

Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday cast his vote in the second phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections here. The PM walked to the polling booth at Nishan Public School to a cheering crowd. He greeted the people on the way and stood in the queue awaiting his turn to vote.

After walking to his elder brother Soma Modi’s house which is located near the polling station, PM Modi spoke to the media and congratulated the voters and the Election Commission of India for celebrating the “festival of democracy.”

He said, “The festival of democracy has been celebrated with great pomp by the people of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. I want to thank people of the country. I also congratulate the Election Commission for conducting elections so magnificently, developing this great tradition of conducting elections that bolsters our prestige in the world. A good example of this was seen in this election.”

#WATCH | The festival of democracy has been celebrated with great pomp by the people of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. I want to thank people of the country. I also want to congratulate Election Commission for conducting elections peacefully: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/2KKjCq7W1D

— ANI (@ANI) December 5, 2022

Further while speaking to the reporters in Gujarati, the Premier said, “I heartily thank the voters of Gujarat for celebrating the festival of democracy with full fervour. The people of Gujarat have the wisdom of listening to everybody and accepting what is right. This is the nature of Gujarat. Following this nature, people are voting in large numbers.”

Earlier this morning, PM Modi urged the people of the state to vote in large numbers. in 14,975 polling stations for the second phase of elections in 93 constituencies, out of the total 182 in Gujarat, spread across 14 districts of north and central regions.

PM Modi had tweeted, “Urging all those who are voting in Phase 2 of the Gujarat elections, particularly the young voters and women voters to vote in large numbers. I will be casting my vote in Ahmedabad at around 9 AM.”

Additionally, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will also cast his vote in the city today.

An average 4.75 per cent voter turnout was recorded on Monday in the initial one hour of polling in the second phase of Gujarat Assembly elections for 93 seats, the Election Commission said today.

Notably, all the 16 urban seats in Ahmedabad are crucial for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been ruling the state since 1990. Over 833 candidates from 61 parties are contesting in the second phase of the Assembly polls. There are over 2.51 crore voters, who will be deciding the fate of the candidates.

The BJP and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are contesting in all 93 seats. The Congress is contesting 90 seats and its alliance partner Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has fielded two candidates. Among other parties, the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) has fielded 12 candidates and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) 44. There are also 285 independent candidates in the fray.

In the 2017 Assembly polls, the BJP won 51 of these 93 seats, and Congress 39, while three seats went to independent candidates. In central Gujarat, the BJP had bagged 37 seats, outnumbering the Congress which got 22. But in north Gujarat, the Congress had won 17 seats while the saffron party got 14.

(With inputs: PTI)

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