Gujarat will be voting in two phases for the upcoming assembly elections on December 1 and December 5. The results of the elections will be announced on December 8. The state elections will see major competition between the incumbent Bharatiya Janta Party, which has ruled in the state since 1995 and the Aam Aadmi Party, which has been campaigning heavily in the state, against the. The Indian National Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Communist Party of India (CPI), Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) are also in the fray.
Here are some of the key constituencies that will be fought over in this election.
Ahmedabad's Maninagar constituency was once the bastion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who won from the seat in 2002, 2007, and 2014. Currently held by Suresh Patel, the constituency has been in BJP hands since the 1990s.
Ghatlodia is another important constituency with a large number of Patidar voters. Current Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel was elected from the seat, as was former Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel. Patel had won with the largest margin in the election so it will be interesting to see how the margins unfold this time.
Morbi, Tankara and Wankaner are going to be important constituencies after the Morbi bridge collapse. The constituencies have a large number of Patidar voters, with the quota agitation leading to Congress' Brijesh Merja winning the seat in 2017. Merja later quit the party and won on a BJP ticket in 2020.
Porbandar constituency will also be another key constituency to look out for as the margin of victory for the BJP in 2017 was wafer thin. Kutiyana constituency, which was won by the NCP, is crucial too.
Godhra is one seat with a large number of Muslim voters, where there may be some mobilisation due to the recent release of Bilkis Bano rape convicts. Former Congress leader CK Raulji won the seat for the BJP with a margin of fewer than 300 votes in 2017.
