Counting for Gujarat Assembly polls tomorrow

Counting of votes for the two-phased Gujarat Assembly elections will take place tomorrow.

New Delhi, Dec 22 : Counting of votes for the two-phased Gujarat Assembly elections will take place tomorrow.

The results will decide the fate of contestants, including those from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

The final phase of polling was held on December 16. Out of the total 18.7 million electorate, 63 to 65 percent exercised their franchise in the 95 constituencies of the total 182 seats spread over eleven districts in the Central and Northern parts of the state.

Around 60 percent of the Gujarat electorate voted during the first phase of polling, which was held on December 11.

Voting was held in 87 constituencies of the 182-member state Assembly. Of these, 58 constituencies were located in the Saurashtra and the Kutch regions, and 29 in South Gujarat.

The BJP had fielded candidates for all the 87 constituencies while the Congress fought elections in82 seats.

The BSP had fielded 78 candidates, NCP four, Communist Party of India and CPI (M) one each.

The term of the State's Legislative Assembly expires on December 26.

The poll campaign witnessed acrimonious debates with Congress Party Chief Sonia Gandhi dubbing Narendra Modi-led State Government as "Merchants of Death" and Modi wooing voters with a pronounced pro-Hindu stance to the extent of justifying the encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in November 2005.

In the last Assembly elections, the BJP won 127 of the 182 seats, while the Congress party was able to win 51 seats. The Janata Dal (United) and independents won two seats each.

ANI