First phase of Gujarat polls tomorrow

Ahmedabad: The high-octane campaign for the first phase of the crucial Gujarat elections, viewed as a prestige battle for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a litmus test for the leadership of  Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, came to an end yesterday. Voting will be held on Dec. 9. A total of 89 seats out of a total 182 are up for grabs in the first phase with 977 candidates in the fray, including Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. Gujarat is a high-stakes election for the BJP as well as the Congress. For the former it is Modi’s home State and a win is critical, just as for the Congress a win is key to resurrecting its sagging morale after a string of electoral defeats in the last three years and to reclaim power in a State in which it has been out of power for over two decades. While the BJP is fighting anti-incumbency and struggling to alter a seemingly negative perception about demonetisation and GST rollout, the Congress has piggybacked on Patidar leader Hardik Patel and Alpesh Thakur to slam Modi. The second phase will be held on Dec. 14 and the counting of votes will take place on Dec. 18.