55-57 percent voters turn up for Gujarat local polls

The second of the two-phase elections to local bodies in Gujarat passed off peacefully on Sunday with an estimated 55-57 percent of the total 2.6 crore voters casting their ballot, officials said.

According to State Election Commissioner Varesh Sinha, a staggering 20,000 candidates were in the fray for as many as 317 local bodies -- 31 district panchayats, 230 taluka (tehsil) panchayats and 56 nagar palikas (municipalities) -- in the largely rural and semi-urban regions of the state.

The votes polled for both the phases, including those in six city municipal corporation areas on November 22, will be counted on December 2. The results are being considered a litmus test for the Anandiben Patel government since this is the first full-scale polls after the 13-year-old rule of Narendra Modi in the state.