Gujarat Elections: The fate of 788 candidates contesting 89 assembly seats in the first phase will be sealed on December 1

Ahmedabad: The fate of about 788 candidates from various political parties and independents contesting on the 89 assembly seats in 19 districts in South Gujarat and Saurashtra will be sealed in the EVMs in the first phase of the assembly election to be held on December 1.

About 2.39 crore voters in Gujarat will cast their franchise for the first phase of the assembly election, which includes 1.24 crore male voters, 1.15 crore female voters, and 497 transgender voters. About 5.74 lakh new voters in the age group of 18-19 years have been added in each of the assembly constituencies in the first phase.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), electors will cast their franchise in the first phase of voting from a total of 14,383 election centers in 89 assembly constituencies. Out of this, about 3,311 polling booths fall in the urban areas, while 11,071 polling booths are in the rural areas.

There is a total of 25,430 polling booths in 89 assembly constituencies including 9,014 in urban areas and 16,416 in rural areas. There are 89 model polling booths, 89 polling booths run and operated for and by the physically handicapped, 89 eco-friendly polling booths, and 611 Sakhi polling booths.

The ECI has installed 34,324 Ballot Units (BU), 34,324 Control Units (CU), and 38,749 Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail(VVPAT).

The election staff of 1.06 lakh government and semi-government officials will be on election duty consisting of 27,978 presiding officers and 78,985 polling officials.