Voters in 89 out of Gujarat's 182 seats are voting in the first phase of polling for the Gujarat Assembly elections on 1 December. The second phase of polling will take place on 5 December and the results will be out on 8 December.
Out of the 89 seats that are voting in phase 1, the BJP had won 48, Congress 38, Bharatiya Tribal Party 2 and NCP 1.
Here are some of the key aspects of the areas voting in the first phase of polling.
3 Distinct Regions Are Voting in the First Phase
The first phase mainly comprises three distinct regions in Gujarat:
Kachchh: 6 seats
Saurashtra: 48 seats
South Gujarat: 35 seats
In 2017, these areas had voted very differently from each other. The BJP performed well in Kachchh and South Gujarat, winning about two-thirds of the seats in both these regions. However, it fared poorly in Saurashtra and the Congress took a decisive lead in this region.
Agrarian woes and three caste-based movements - Patidar reservation stir, protests against Una flogging and OBC protests - helped Congress in the region, especially in rural pockets.
More Rural and Adivasi-Concentration Seats
Except for Surat, most of the other districts voting in the first phase of polling are predominantly rural. Another one-million plus city besides Surat voting in this phase is Rajkot. But Rajkot district also has several rural and semi-rural seats as well.
The first phase includes districts with a high tribal concentration such as Narmada, Tapi, Dang, Navsari and Valsad.
In this phase there are 12 seats which are reserved for Adivasis. Out of these, 10 are in just these four districts.
Out of these 12 seats, the Congress had won 6, its ally the Bharatiya Tribal Party won 2 and the BJP won 4. The Congress and BTP are not contesting in alliance this time.
Key Constituencies and Candidates
This phase has a number of heavy-weights as well as interesting contests.
A lot of focus will be on what happens in Morbi, where over 130 people had died in a bridge collapse just before the elections were announced. The BJP dropped sitting MLA and minister Brijesh Merja, who had defected from the Congress. It has instead fielded former MLA Kantilal Amrutiya.
Among sitting ministers, Jitu Vaghani is contesting from Bhavnagar West, Raghavji Patel from Jamnagar Rural, Purnesh Modi from Surat West, Kanubhai Desai from Pardi, Kiritsinh Rana from Limbdi and Naresh Patel from Gandevi.
Another high profile BJP candidate is Rivaba Jadeja, wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, is also contesting on a BJP ticket from Jamnagar North.
From the Congress, former leaders of the Opposition Paresh Dhanani and Arjun Modhwadia are in the fray from Amreli and Porbandar respectively. Dhanani is trying to win for the third consecutive time from his bastion while Modhwadia is up against arch-rival Babu Bokhiria who had defeated him last time.
A number of sitting MLAs from the Congress are also in the fray, especially in Saurashtra and Adivasi pockets of South Gujarat such as Punjabhai Vaish, Lalit Vasoya, Mohammed Javed Pirzada, Lalit Kagathara, Rutvik Makwana, Virjibhai Thummar, Vikram Madam and Anantkumar Patel.
This is a key phase for AAP's state leadership as well with its CM candidate Isudan Gadhvi contesting from Khambaliya and Gopal Italia from Katargam.
BTP chief Chhotubhai Vasava is contesting from his bastion Jhagadia but as an Independent. His son, sitting MLA from Dediapada Mahesh Vasava had initially been declared as the official candidate from Jhagadia but withdrew after his father decided to contest as an Independent. From Dediapada, the party has fielded Bahadursinh Vasava.
Kandhal Jadeja, independent MLA and son of 'Godmother' Santokben Jadeja, is seeking re-election from Kutiyana in Porbandar district.
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