Gujarat Gram Panchayat Election Results 2021: Counting of votes under way

The counting of ballots in Gujarat's grame panchayat elections began on December 21 in various locations.

According to preliminary voting results, 77 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the elections. With the exception of a few isolated incidences, voting in Gujarat has remained quiet, according to a top official with the Gujarat State Election Commission.

On Sunday, polls were held in 8,686 grame panchayats and 48,573 wards, with 37,000 ballot boxes distributed over more than 23,000 stations, with results expected on Tuesday. According to an update posted on the state electoral body's website on Monday, the sarpanch election had a turnout of 77.03 percent, while ward members had a turnout of 72.92 percent. According to the report, approximately 1.81 crore persons were eligible to vote.

Follow along as the Gujarat panchayat election of 2021 unfolds:

14:51 (IST): In Gir Somnath, a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law are vying for the position of sarpanch

Pooja Bamania faces up against her mother-in-law Jiviben Bamania in the election to the panchayat of Delvada village in Gir Somnath district for the position of sarpanch.

So far, two candidates from Pooja's panel have won two of the village panchayat's wards.

Vijay Bamania, Jiviben's son and Pooja's husband, is the outgoing sarpanch of Delvada village.

14:23 (IST): A unique guest comes to the counting centre

A snake invaded the counting centre in Jhagadia hamlet in an uncommon occasion.

The officials were stunned, and they quickly exited the room and went to a secure location. The room's windows and doors were all shut.

Sunil Sharma, a snake charmer, was summoned by an official and was on the scene quickly to capture the snake. The vote-counting process was restarted later.

14:21 (IST): Counting centres in Narmada and Jhagadia have reported dramatic scenes

Vasudev Vasava's wife, Ashmitaben Vasava, slumped on the ground at the counting centre when her husband lost by only 10 votes in the sarpanch election from Chitrada gramme panchayat in Narmada.

According to electoral branch officials in the district, Ashmita Vasava was rushed to a local hospital, where her health is claimed to be stable.

In a separate occurrence, a candidate for Gram Panchayat member in Jarsad village, Jhagadia taluka, fainted on the ground after losing the elections. According to a Jhagadia electoral branch officer, candidate Rajesh Vasava was transferred to a local health centre for treatment and his condition was stated to be stable.

14:17 (IST): The winner of the tie will be decided by a chit

In Bakrol village of Waghodia taluka, Vadodara district, two sarpanch candidates, Kanu Nayka and Shailesh Nayka, tied with 401 votes apiece. The winner was determined by the returning officer picking a chit. Sarpanch Kanu Nayka was elected.

13:40 (IST): The results are slowly trickling in

Jayesh Boghra, who was recently elected chairman of the Rajkot Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), has been chosen sarpanch in his hometown of Ramnagar in Rajkot district.

He takes up the village panchayat post from his wife Payal.

13:39 (IST): Vadodara specifics

The election ballots were counted at eight locations throughout the Vadodara district. In 260 gramme panchayats, up to 80.16 percent of voters were polled.

Counting is taking place at 136 tables over 27 halls in eight different locations. A total of 668 people are involved in the process, including 464 police officers, 65 health workers, and 164 volunteers. The talukas of Vadodara, Padra, Karjan, Shinor, Dabhoi, Waghodia, Savli, and Desar are all counting.

10:03 (IST): Panchayat polls have a broader impact

The election is viewed as the final significant test for political parties before the upcoming Assembly elections in December.

A gramme panchayat election is fought by a candidate on his own behalf, not on the basis of party emblems, albeit they are still associated with one or more parties. Each voter is required to cast two ballots in gramme panchayat elections, one to elect the sarpanch and the other to elect panchayat members for his ward.

10:02 (IST): Polling went fairly peaceful

Except for claims of vote manipulation at a voting station in Gandhinagar and a scuffle between candidates at a polling booth in Surendranagar district, polling had ended quietly on Sunday.

A voter was assaulted by a constable in Rajkot after he persisted on taking his phone into the polling booth. The man was apprehended, and the incident was videotaped.

10:00 (IST): According to the SEC, voter turnout was over 77 percent

The average voter turnout in Gujarat's gramme panchayat elections was over 77%, according to the state electoral commission.

Dangs district had the highest turnout of 84.92 percent in the sarpanch election, followed by Tapi with 83.19 percent and Vadodara with 82.12 percent, while it was over 80 percent in Patan, Kheda, Gandhinagar, and Ahmedabad, according to the report.

The turnout in districts such as Bhavnagar and Gir Somnath was comparably low, with 67.51 percent and 69.64 percent, respectively. Due to faulty ballot paper printing, voting had to be restarted at six booths in Panchmahal, Amreli, and Porbandar districts, according to the SEC.

09:58 (IST): A panchayat employee was one of five people hurt in an attack by a sarpanch candidate

Police claim they were reportedly targeted by a sarpanch candidate and his supporters in a brawl in a village in Bharuch on Saturday night, injuring five people, including a panchayat staffer, ahead of Gram Panchayat elections.

According to police, around 10.15 p.m. on Saturday, sarpanch candidate Ramesh alias Mahesh Shankar Vasava and four others allegedly assaulted Gram Panchayat staffer Dinesh Vasava, 30, and his family members in Daheli village, Valiya taluka, Bharuch, for allegedly supporting current sarpanch Raju Vasava.

09:51 (IST): Village sarpanch elections have been suspended due to the death of a candidate in Panchmahals

Following the death of one of the five contestants running for the post of sarpanch in Nandarva village, the Returning Officer of Sehra taluka in Panchmahals district on Wednesday delayed the elections in Nandarva village, just days before the impending gramme panchayat elections in Gujarat.

Following the death of Bharat Shankar Patel, who fell during his election campaign on December 13, the Returning Officer of Sehra Taluka issued a notification under Section 23 of the Gujarat Panchayats Election Rules, 1994, suspending the polls.

Over 8,600 gram panchayats in Gujarat will vote ahead of the election season.

On Sunday, about 8,690 gram panchayats across the state will vote to elect their Sarpanch and over 48500 ward members, after campaigning ended on Friday. On December 21, around 1.82 crore voters are expected to cast ballot papers in approximately 23,100 polling places, with the results being revealed on December 21. General elections, mid-term elections, and by-elections are all part of the process.

Despite the fact that gram panchayat elections are not fought on party lines, they are regarded vital in the run-up to the Assembly elections next year.