 "Photo: ANI")
The Gujarat Assembly election battle for the state's 182 constituencies began on Saturday, with polling in 89 constituencies. These constituencies were from 19 districts in the Saurashtra and South Gujarat regions. A total of 977 candidates were in the fray, of whom 57 were women candidates.
Among the districts that saw polling in the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly polls on December 9, the Abdasa Assembly seat in the Kuchchh district is the largest constituency, with an area covering over 6,278 sq km. The smallest constituency is Karanj in the Surat district covering only over 4 sq km.
The constituency that saw the highest number of candidates in phase-1 of polling was Jamnagar rural in the Saurashtra region, where 27 candidates from across parties tried their luck. Jhagadia and Gandevi had the least numbers of contenders, with only three contestants in the fray in each.
The big names among the candidates whose fates got sealed in the EVM machines after the first phase of polling on Saturday are the following:
1. BJP's Vijay Rupani, who fought against the Congress' Indranil Rajyaguru from the Rajkot West constituency.
2. The Congress' Paresh Dhanani, who was competing with the BJP's Bavkubhai Undhad in Amreli.
3. The Congress Shaktisinh Gohil, against the BJP's Virendrasinh Jadeja in Mandvi.
Here is the full list of 89 consituencies (in brackets) -- sorted across the 19 districts -- that went to the polls in Phase 1 on Saturday:
1) Amreli (Dhari, Amreli, Lathi, Savarkundla, and Rajula)
2) Bharuch (Jambusar, Vagra, Jhagadia (ST), Bharuch, and Ankleshwar).
3) Botad (Botad and Gadhada)
4) Bhavnagar (Mahuva, Talaja, Gariadhar, Palitana, Bhavnagar Rural, Bhavnagar East, Bhavnagar West)
5) Dangs (Dangs)
6) Devbhumi Dwarka (Khambhalia, and Dwarka)
7) Gir Somnath (Somnath, Talala, Kodinar, and Una)
8) Jamnagar (Kalavad, Jamnagar Rural, Jamnagar North, Jamnagar South, and Jamjodhpur)
9) Junagadh (Manavadar, Junagadh, Visavadar, Keshod, and Mangrol)
10) Kachchh (Abdasa, Mandvi , Bhuj, Anjar, Gandhidham (SC), and Rapar)
11) Morbi (Morbi, Tankara, and Wankaner)
12) Narmada (Nandod and Dediapada)
13) Navsari (Jalalpore, Navsari, Gandevi, and Bansda)
14) Porbandar (Porbandar, and Kutiyana)
15) Rajkot (Rajkot East, Rajkot West, Rajkot South, Rajkot Rural, Jasdan, Gondal, Jetpur & Dhoraji)
16) Surendranagar (Dasada, Limbdi, Wadhwan, Chotila, and Dhrangadhra)
17) Surat (Olpad, Mangrol, Mandvi, Kamrej, Surat East, Surat North, Varachha Road, Karanj, Limbayat, Udhna, Majura, Katargam, Surat West, Choryasi, Bardoli, Mahuva)
18) Tapi (Vyara and Nizar)
19) Valsad (Dharampur, Valsad, Pardi, Kaprada, and Umbergaon)
