Gujarat polls: Over 12 lakh new voters this time

Ahmedabad: In the run-up to the Gujarat Assembly elections, more than 12 lakh youths will be eligible to vote for the first time, while over seven thousands senior citizens in the age group of 100 plus will be use their franchise. As per the latest data released by the Election Commission, 12,37,606 new voters will be able to cast their votes besides 7,670 voters who are above 100 years.

Gujarat has 4.35 crore registered voters and out of it 60 per cent are youths. Around 51.92 per cent of the total registered voters fall in the age group of 18-39 year and would play a major role in giving a shape to the forthcoming polls.

Besides, Gujarat has the largest number of voters in the age group of 30-39 year at 1.12 crore followed by 1.01 crore in 20-29-year age group. In 40-49 year age bracket, there are over 84 lakh voters, while in 50-59 year age group over 62 lakh citizens will go for voting this time.

After 60-year category, over 24 lakh people to use their electoral franchise, which include 75,410 of super senior citizens of 90-99 year age block.The BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah and the Congress-election campaign driven by its vice-president Rahul Gandhi I campaigning neck and neck in the state to retain and revive its prospects in the state, respectively.

The 182-seat Gujarat Assembly will go on for voting in two phases – December 9 and December 14 and the final counting will be done on December 18.(UNI)