Voting underway for local body elections in Gujarat

In Gujarat, voting got underway on Sunday morning for elections to several local bodies, including 15 municipal corporations and 84 municipalities. Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, as per the schedule announced by the State Election Commission. The elections are being held for 15 municipal corporations, including Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats, making it one of the largest electoral exercises in the state. A total of 9,992 candidates are in the fray, with more than 4.18 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise. A three-tier security is in place, aided by CCTV surveillance and deployment of special squads in sensitive areas, police officials said.

Jamnagar, Gujarat: Voting for local body elections began in Jamnagar district. Polling is underway for district panchayat, taluka panchayats, and Sikka municipality. In Jamnagar Municipal Corporation, 4,42,829 voters are casting ballots across 414 polling stations with 474 EVMs pic.twitter.com/qjPlNumbAv

— IANS (@ians_india) April 26, 2026

The elections are being held for 15 municipal corporations, including Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats, making it one of the largest electoral exercises in the state. A total of 9,992 candidates are in the fray, with more than 4.18 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise. A three-tier security is in place, aided by CCTV surveillance and deployment of special squads in sensitive areas, police officials said.
Elections are also being held for the first time in nine newly-created municipal corporations, including Navsari, Gandhidham, Morbi, Vapi, Anand, Nadiad, Mehsana, Porbandar and Surendranagar. Counting of votes will take place on April 28.The ruling BJP, Opposition Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have emerged as the key players, while All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is also contesting in several places.
In March 2021, the BJP scored a landslide win in the local polls in Gujarat, winning 6,236 out of 8,470 seats across various municipalities and establishing a wide gap with rival Congress. The BJP had then dominated all six municipal corporations, besides 81 municipalities, 32 district panchayats, and 231 taluka panchayats.