The first phase of voting in 89 seats in Gujarat across Kutch, South and Saurashtra regions ended on Dec 1, Thursday.
Focus now shifts to the second phase of the election for 93 seats to be held on December 5, Monday. The D-Day will be December 8 -- when votes will be counted along with another BJP-ruled state of Himachal Pradesh.
In the first phase of polling on Dec 1, voters exercised their franchise in 89 seats across 19 districts.
The voting turnout was around 48.48 per cent till 3 pm.
Some key constituencies in the first phase included Surat, Porbandar, Khambhalia, Rajkot, Jamnagar North, and Morbi - the place which made news lately after the bridge collapsed claiming about 140 lives.
Of course, the Kutch region was hit with killer quake in 2000. Saurashtra region has agrarian issues and South Gujarat and Surat too have challenges although these regions too have been achieving various ambitious targets one after another.
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Some years back when Modi was still the Chief Minister, many of his detractors had issues with Modi's delivery ability. But sincerity counts a lot. "When corporate houses and common people find (found) an effective politician (Modi) who can make things happen on the ground, they are willing to
ignore other issues and certain flaws," remarked an official.
Sociologists say one way to look at things suggests that the revival of Kutch region will continue to
fascinate India. But perhaps it also agitates the rest of India and the world and also opposition Congress.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel is certainly an important protagonist and obviously so is Narendra Modi whose
name is often synonymous with Gurarat's developmental agenda and various anecdotes in Bhuj and adjoining areas.
The good old saying, the glass is half-full or half-empty applies to all dynamic human conditions. When we talk about development, economists and journalists would argue that there is a missing link in Kutch region's economic evolution.
These regions and Gujarat as a state leap-froged straight from being predominantly
agriculture-based to a service-led economy. But it goes without saying
that there is one part of industry that has the promise to fill this gap. It is the small and medium
scale sector. Gujarat has done well in the SME sector too along with large industries.
The Kutch has done it's part. In South Gujarat and Surat region - people talk about diamond
business and textiles.
A few years ago, Modi had said - "...by and large there is an atmosphere of 'chhoro yaar, sab bekar
(what's the use, there is no point. There will not be any result)". This negative mood has been prevailing in the
country for a long time and also in parts of Gujarat and especially the Kutch region after the 2000 quake.
If Gujarat has given anything, it has ensured that the same government apparatus, the same
official files, same offices and officials and same rules and regulations, says educationist Neelambhar
Bhai in Bhuj.
Despite all these, Gujarat has proved that the country can take a leap forward.
Elections in Saurashtra was particularly vital.
In 2017, the BJP, which had won 115 seats in 2012 under Narendra Modi as Chief Minister, failed to touch 100 seats psychological mark. Of the drop in seats - 13 of them came from Saurashtra.
The BJP in 2012 - then with Narendra Modi as the chief minister - had a dream run of polls bagging five seats in Kutch and as many as 28 in South Gujarat.
The Kutch region has six Assembly constituencies - Mandvi, Anjar, Gandhidham and three other bordering Pakistan - Rapar, Abdasa and Bhuj.
Abdasa turned out a politically significant seat for this year's polls. The reason was not merely an international
border, it is essentially political and the manner in which BJP poll management works.
The BJP candidate for this much talked about Abdasa seat was a party hopper -
Pradhyumansinh Jadeja.
In 2017 polls, Jadeja was a Congress candidate and had won the seat too. But he jumped ship
in 2020 and won the prestigious seat again in the 2020 by-elections. But Abdasa hit headlines on Nov 28
as the AAP candidate Vasant Khetani joined the Lotus party.
Of course, the AAP is now practically left with 180 candidates in the fray. Officially the last
date of withdrawal of nomination is over. But politics is always more than what happens or can
happen beyond 'officially'.
AAP had suffered yet another setback recently when its Surat East candidate
Kanchan Jariwal withdrew nominations.
The saffron party has replaced sitting members and prominent faces and preferred new ones.
In Mandvi, the BJP has preferred Anirudhh Dave over its sitting MLA Virendrasinh Jadeja.
In Anjar, which was devastated during the 2000 killer quake, the Lotus
party fielded Trikambhai Chhanga and replaced its sitting MLA Vasanbhai Ahir.
Similarly in Bhuj -- which was the epicentre of quake devastation -- the party BJP
has dropped its two-time sitting legislator and Assembly Speaker Nimaben Acharya with
a "more locally acceptable face" Keshubhai Shivdas Patel.
Among the issues perhaps 'water supply' is the most talked about issue in the Kutch region.
Officials say the multi-purpose interstate Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) on Narmada River has certainly
proved to be a boon to the water-starved areas.
In the year 2000 even water trains were run to transport water in this region and also in some parts of Saurashtra. Now, the Narmada water has reached up to Tappar Dam in the Kutch region.
This has happened after traveling more than 600 km. "This is a great engineering achievement as water has been raised above 54 metre in a series of pumping stations. Thus water is now supplied both for agricultural purposes and drinking,"
Bhuj-based trader Arvind Lal.
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