Gandhinagar, September 16 (Daily Kiran) : The Gujarat State Election Commission (SEC) announced on Wednesday that elections for the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) and the municipalities of Okha and Thara will take place on October 11, with vote counting scheduled for October 13.
According to a statement from the SEC, the official notification for the elections will be issued on September 21. Candidates will be able to file their nominations until September 26, with the deadline for withdrawing nominations set for September 29. Voting will be conducted using electronic voting machines (EVMs).
The GMC elections will involve 11 wards, with elections for 44 corporator seats. Established in 1966, the civic body was granted municipal corporation status in 2010, leading to its first municipal elections in April 2011, which were narrowly won by the Congress party.
In the 2016 GMC elections, both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress secured 16 seats each out of 32, resulting in a hung house. Subsequently, Congress councilor Praveen Patel joined the BJP, allowing the party to form a board in the corporation.
Following the delimitation process, the number of wards and seats was increased to accommodate the outer areas of Gandhinagar within the municipal corporation’s jurisdiction. Currently, the GMC comprises 11 wards and 44 seats.
In the 2021 elections, the BJP dominated by winning 41 out of 44 seats, while Congress secured two, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won one seat.
The SEC has also announced elections for the Okha municipality in Devbhoomi Dwarka district and the Thara municipality in Banaskantha district. These elections coincide with by-elections for seven vacant seats in various district and taluka panchayats and other local bodies.
The commission has established a unified schedule for all three municipal bodies, with the notification on September 21, nominations beginning thereafter, voting on October 11, and counting on October 13. This announcement paves the way for the upcoming electoral contest in the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, which last held elections five years ago, where the BJP won a significant majority.
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