Gujarat Assembly elections 2017: Counting of votes on Monday - Key highlights

Pic courtesy: PTI

Ahmedabad: Counting of votes will be held on Monday for the Gujarat Assembly polls at 37 centres across the state's 33 districts, amid tight security.

The voting was held following an acrimonious campaign, where both the main political parties indulged in no-holds-barred attacks on each other.

While PM Narendra Modi led the campaign for the BJP, Congress president Rahul Gandhi was the pivot of his party's electioneering.

Following are some of the highlights of Gujarat polls:

- During the campaign, PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah trained guns on the Congress on issues like Ram Temple, alleged Pakistani interference in the Gujarat polls and (suspended Congress leader) Mani Shankar Aiyar's remarks.

- Rahul persistently attacked the PM and the BJP for "not talking about the future of Gujarat" and skipping key issues being faced by the people of the state.

- The Congress also stitched about a broad social coalition with prominent Patidar, OBC, and Dalit leaders - Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mevani - in its bid to unseat the BJP in power for over two decades.

- Patel led a long agitation of his community for reservation, while Thakor led a counter-protest against the inclusion of Patidars in the OBC reservation list. Mevani raised his voice against Dalit atrocities. The influential Patidar community accounts for around 12 percent of the state's population.

- The two main rival parties also tried to counter each other on social media, as the Congress and its supporters launched the campaign "vikas gando thayo che" (development has gone crazy), while the BJP launched a counter drive of "I am development, I am Gujarat".

- According to the final figures released by the Election Commission, the voter turnout in the second phase of voting on December 14, for 93 seats of North and Central Gujarat, stood at 69.99 percent.

- In the first phase of polls held on December 9 for 89 seats in Saurasthra, Kutch and South Gujarat, 66.75 percent voting was recorded.

- The total voter turnout this time has seen a dip of 2.91 percent, as compared to the 2012 polls when 71.32 percent polling was registered.

- In terms of numbers, of the total 4.35 crore registered voters, 2.97 crore exercised their right to franchise in the elections held on December 9 and 14.

- According to the EC data, the tribal-dominated Narmada district witnessed the highest voter turnout of 79.15 percent, while Devbhumi-Dwarka of Saurashtra region recorded the lowest at 59.39 percent.

- Out of the total 33 districts, 15 recorded over 70 per cent polling, while 17 others clocked between 60 percent and 70 percent.

- Only Devbhumi Dwarka district registered polling below 60 percent. 

- In the 2012 Assembly polls, the BJP had won 115 seats, while the Congress bagged 61 in Gujarat. 

(With PTI inputs)