Jasdan by-polls in Gujarat: 71.27% voting recorded; BJP's Kunvarji Bavaliya, Congress' Avsar Nakiya among key candidates

Ahmedabad: As much as 71.27 percent voting was registered during the by-election for Jasdan Assembly constituency in Gujarat’s Rajkot district Thursday, poll officials said. No untoward incident was reported during the polling which got over at 5 pm. [caption id=“attachment_4144249” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] Two complaints of breach of the model code of conduct are being probed, Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer S Murali Krishna said. Three voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines were replaced due to minor glitches, he said. “While the final figure may vary slightly, 71.27 percent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm,” Krishna said. “Eight complaints of breach of model code of conduct were received by election officials, of which six were disposed of and two have been taken up for investigation,” he added. One of the two complaints was about a WhatsApp message showing an electronic voting machine (EVM) with the button pressed for the lotus symbol of the BJP. The other complaint was regarding an audio clip where the BJP candidate and Gujarat minister Kunvarji Bavaliya is purportedly heard threatening some voters. The clip was circulated on WhatsApp. The by-poll became a battle of prestige between the ruling BJP and opposition Congress in the wake of the Congress winning Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. The election became necessary after Bavaliya, an influential Koli community leader who had won the seat on Congress ticket in 2017, joined the BJP and resigned as MLA on 2 July and was made a cabinet minister in the BJP government in the state on the same day. The saffron party fielded him for the by-election. He has to get elected back to the Assembly within six months to continue as minister. He is pitted against Congress’ Avsar Nakiya, a Rajkot district panchayat member. Bavaliya cast his vote at a polling booth in Vinchhiya village while Nakiya voted in his native Asalpur village. Both expressed confidence of winning the election. Apart from Bavaliya and Nakiya, six other candidates are in the fray. The constituency has 2.32 lakh registered voters — 1.22 lakh men and 1.09 lakh women. According to the election commission figure, till 5 pm, 1.65 lakh voters, or 71.27 percent, had exercised the franchise. Counting of votes will take place on 23 December.