Gandhinagar, Dec 04, 2022, IANS

Gandhinagar, Dec 4 (IANS) Taking note of the low voter turnout in the first phase of Gujarat Assembly polls, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has appealed to electorate to come out in large numbers and vote in the second and final phase.

In the first phase of elections, 63.34 voter turnout was recorded on 89 seats. In that too, rural turnout was higher compared to urban.

A statement issued by the Chief Electoral Officer's office said that Gandhidham (Kutch) the industrial belt has recorded lowest 47.86 per cent votes, a drop of 6.34 per cent compared to 2017 voting.

Other urban areas where low voting was recorded are Rajkot East 62.20 per cent, a 4.78 per cent drop compared to 2017, 57.12 per cent in Rajkot West, 10.56 per cent lower than 2017. In 16 urban assembly constituencies, a drastic drop in voting was recorded.

The voter turnout gap is as wide as 34.85 per cent, if compared in the rural constituency of Dediapada in Narmada district (82.71 per cent) and Gandhidham in Kutch district (47.86 per cent). Also, average turnout in important urban areas is lower than turnout in rural constituencies.

In 26 rural assembly constituencies, over 65 per cent voting was recorded, whereas not a single urban constituency recorded over 65 per cent voting.