Voting began at 7 am on Sunday for local body elections across Gujarat. The election will cover 15 municipal corporations, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats Polls will continue till 6 pm, with a total of 9,992 candidates and over 4.18 crore voters eligible to cast their votes. Key civic bodies going to polls include Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot The ruling BJP, Opposition Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have emerged as the key players. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is also contesting in several places Notable candidates include former IPS officer M L Ninama, ex-radio jockey Abha Desai, and former AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani. Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel urged everyone to vote calling it the festival of democracy