New Delhi: Polling for the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections got underway on Tuesday morning with sporadic cases of violence in some constituencies.
Though, polling began on a dull note in Kutch, the number of people going to the polling booths increased in the later part of the day. State Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala, who is contesting from Rajkot II constituency, was the first to cast his vote.
The results of the first phase polling will be a decisive factor for the BJP, which has been facing major dissidence in these regions. Several dissident leaders are in the fray, including Dhiru Gajera from Surat.
In Rajkot, a BJP worker was stabbed by an assailant near a polling booth. The party worker identified as Bhujesh Mankad was stabbed in the Panchnath plot area.
Meanwhile, in Amreli, a commando accompanying Congress candidate Bhavku Undhad fired two rounds in the air when unknown persons surrounded his vehicle and allegedly threatened him, police sources told PTI.
The incident took place at Kukav crossroads when Undhad, a candidate from Babar constituency, was travelling in his vehicle.
The suspects fled from the spot, police sources said, adding that an FIR in this regard has been filed at Vadiya police station.
Political rivalry is suspected to be the cause behind the incident, police sources added.
Undhad was a sitting BJP MLA in the Narendra Modi government and was one of the several BJP rebels who quit the party and joined the Congress recently.(With agency inputs)
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