Gujarat elections: 67 per cent voting recorded in first phase

Ahmedabad: 7.28 pm: 67 per cent record turnout recorded in first phase of Gujarat Assembly elections.

5.28 pm: Voting ends in phase one of Gujarat Assembly elections.

4.17 pm: 53 per cent voting recorded in the first phase of Gujarat Assembly elections till 3 pm.

2.51 pm: Gujarat Congress chief Arjun Modhwadia casts his vote.

2.15 pm: Thirty eight per cent voting recorded till 1 pm.

1.53 pm: Around 20 per cent voting was recorded till noon, a poll official said.

1.40 pm: Beauty parlours in Rajkot are reportedly offering free services to customers as part of a voting awareness programme.

12.28 pm: Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi holds rally in Palanpur.

12.25 pm: Congress leader Ahmed Patel casts his vote.

12.23 pm: The constituencies where polling is underway include 48 seats in seven districts of Saurashtra, 35 seats in seven districts of south Gujarat and four seats in Ahmedabad district.

12.17 pm: Eighteen per cent voting is recorded in the first three hours of polling.

12.04 pm: EVM machines at a polling booth in Navsari stop working.

10.24 am: Narendra Modi tweets urging all to exercise their franchise. "A vote is the foundation of a strong and vibrant democracy. I urge you all to exercise your franchise."

10.09 am: Keshubhai Patel casts his vote, says CM Narendra Modi will lose the elections this time.

10 am: Six per cent voting is registered in the first hour.

9.36 am: BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain says the Congress is contesting the elections to save its pride and that the victor would be the BJP.

9.35 am: Fourty-eight seats in Surendranagar, Rajkot, Jamnagar,

Porbandar, Jamnagar, Amreli and Bhavngar are considered very crucial as political observers are watching very keenly on how former chief minister and 'bete noir' of Modi, Keshubhai Patel factor plays out in the region.

9.30 am: Out of the total 1,81,77,953 voters, there are 95,75,278 males, 86,02,557 females and 118 other voters who are likely to use their franchise.

8.40 am: Gujarat Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala says, "We are going to get 150 seats in Gujarat, not 1 seat less. Narendra Modi will again get reward for the good work he has done in the state."

8.19 am: Tight security arrangements in place at major polling stations.

8.17 am: State Panchayat Minister Narottam Patel arrives to cast his vote.

8.12 am: Voting begins at Rajkot.

The voting in the fist phase of the Gujarat Aseembly elections began at 8 am on Thursday. The voting for 87 seats in 15 districts in Saurashtra and South Gujarat will end at 5 pm. Nearly 1.81 crore voters will decide the fate of the 846 candidates in fray. Nearly 46 of these are women.

The more crucial battle in phase one will play out in Saurashtra, the stronghold of Keshubhai Patel who is favoured by the dominant Leuva Patel community here. Saruashtra could decide the outcome of the elections, as well as the fate of Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Gujarat Parivartan Party leader Keshubhai is hoping to inflict the maximum damage on Modi's re-election prospects, though a number of pre-poll surveys have already predicted a hat-trick of wins for Modi.

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