AHMEDABAD: With Gujarat going to Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday, campaign ended on Sunday evening and candidates will now shift their focus to door-to-door canvassing. Meanwhile, concerns are raised over voting percentage due to the scorching heat.
Parties are calling for early voting and the Election Commission has issued guidelines to manage potential heat wave conditions.
This time the election atmosphere in Gujarat remained relatively subdued. Apart from speeches by Prime Minister Modi and the Rupala-Kshatriya controversy, there has been minimal fervour in the elections. Following BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal’s uncontested victory in the Surat Lok Sabha seat, attention now turns to the general elections for Gujarat’s 25 Lok Sabha seats. Voting will take place for five assembly seats from 7 am to 5 pm on Tuesday.
During his two-day visit to Gujarat, Modi addressed 8 meetings. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed meetings. From the Congress camp, Rahul Gandhi held rallies in Patan and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra addressed gatherings in the Valsad and Banaskantha seats. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and ex-Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot participated in meetings.