47.03% polling recorded till 3 pm in 25 Lok Sabha seats of Gujarat

Ahmedabad: A voter turnout of 47.03 per cent was recorded till 3 pm in 25 Lok Sabha seats of Gujarat in the third phase of the general elections on Tuesday, an Election Commission (EC) official said.

As many as 265 candidates are in the fray from 25 out of 26 constituencies in the western state.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had scored its first victory in Lok Sabha elections from Surat without contest after eight out of nine candidates withdrew from the fray and the nomination form of the Congress candidate was rejected.

"An average 47.03 per cent voter turnout was recorded between 7 am and 3 pm in Gujarat," the official said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Chief Electoral Officer for Gujarat, P Bharathi were among the early voters.

As per the data shared by the EC, the Valsad (ST) constituency in south Gujarat recorded the highest turnout of 58.05 per cent, while the Porbandar seat in the Saurashtra region saw the lowest turnout of 37.96 per cent between 7 am and 3 pm.

Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya is in the poll ring from Porbandar.

Voters queued up in large numbers outside several polling booths in the early hours to avoid the scorching heat.

While PM Modi cast his vote at Nishan School in Ranip area, Amit Shah exercised his franchise at a polling booth in Naranpura, both of which fall under the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat from where he is in the fray.

Gujarat has 4.97 crore voters, including 2.56 crore men, 2.41 crore women and 1,534 persons from the third gender.

Of the 50,788 polling booths, 17,275 are located in urban areas and 33,513 in rural parts, according to officials.