A voter turnout of 55.22 per cent was recorded till 5 pm in 25 Lok Sabha seats of Gujarat in the third phase of the elections on Tuesday. Home Minister Amit Shah from Gandhinagar as well as his Cabinet colleagues Mansukh Mandaviya and Parshottam Rupala from Porbandar and Rajkot, respectively, are in the fray.
Gujarat has 4.97 crore voters, including 2.56 crore men, 2.41 crore women and 1,534 persons from the third gender.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast his vote at Nishan School in Ranip area, .Shah exercised his franchise at a polling booth in Naranpura, both of which fall under the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat.
As per the data shared by the Election Commission, the tribal-reserved Valsad constituency in south Gujarat recorded the highest turnout of 68.12 per cent, while Amreli in Saurashtra saw the lowest turnout of 45.59 per cent till 5 pm.
Meanwhile, a 45-year-old woman polling officer deployed at a polling booth in Amreli district died after she complained of uneasiness while on duty on Tuesday, an official said. Kaushika Babariya, a government school teacher, was deployed at a booth in Jafrabad town.
Some voters braved physical limitations to exercise their franchise. A person with disabilities used his leg to cast his vote, and another person voted on a stretcher. Dedicated non-resident Gujaratis (NRGs) turned up in large numbers to cast their vote in their hometowns.
The State Election Commission ensured that voting was a celebratory exercise by decorating some polling stations like wedding venues and setting up selfie points for voters to make their day memorable.
In Nadiad, which falls under the Kheda Lok Sabha constituency, Ankit Soni, who lost both hands, cast his vote using his legs.
"Around 15-20 years ago, I suffered an electric shock and lost my hands. With the blessings of my teachers and parents, I started drawing, completed CS and earned an MBA. I am working towards a PhD. I voted using my legs," Soni said.
