Gandhinagar: As many as 4.19 crore of the state’s 4.4 crore eligible voters will exercise their franchise on April 26 to elect representatives to 15 municipal corporations, including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot; 84 municipalities; 34 district panchayats; and 260 taluka panchayats across the state. Voting will be conducted using electronic voting machines (EVM) from 7am to 6pm on April 26, while counting of votes will take place on April 28, the State Election Commission (SEC) announced on Wednesday.Elections will be held for the first time in nine newly constituted municipal corporations. The BJP is currently governing the six existing municipal corporations.Apart from Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar, elections will also be held in the newly formed municipal corporations of Karamsad-Anand, Gandhidham, Nadiad, Navsari, Porbandar, Mehsana, Morbi, Vapi and Surendranagar.A multi-cornered contest is expected among the BJP, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), smaller parties and independents for 9,992 seats across urban local bodies, as well as district and taluka panchayats. By-elections will also be held for 13 seats in 11 municipalities, the SEC said.“About 4.19 crore voters out of the total 4.4 crore will be able to cast their vote in the upcoming local body elections in the state. The model code of conduct has come into force from today,” State Election Commissioner S Murali Krishna told the media in Gandhinagar on Wednesday.The SEC said elections will be held across 7,253 wards, including 261 in municipal corporations, 668 municipalities, 1,190 district panchayats and 5,234 taluka panchayats.Including the by-election seats, a total of 10,005 seats will be decided — 1,044 in municipal corporations, 2,637 in municipalities, 1,090 in district panchayats and 5,234 in taluka panchayats.The SEC added that this will be the first major election after the implementation of 27% reservation for OBCs (Other Backward Classes), along with the constitution of nine new municipal corporations, seven new municipalities and several new taluka panchayats.
