Voting for Gujarat’s 2026 local self-government elections commenced on Sunday across the state, covering a wide range of civic bodies including municipal corporations, municipalities, taluka panchayats, and district panchayats. The polling is being conducted for 15 municipal corporations, 84 municipalities, 260 taluka panchayats, and 34 district panchayats, with voting taking place at over 48,000 polling stations.
More than 4 crore voters are eligible to participate in what is considered a significant democratic exercise. A large administrative setup has been deployed, including over 2.6 lakh polling staff and more than 90,000 police personnel to ensure smooth and secure voting. Thousands of polling booths have been marked as sensitive or highly sensitive, reflecting the scale and complexity of the exercise.
Voting began early in several districts, with political leaders and public representatives casting their ballots and urging citizens to participate actively. In Rajkot’s Jasdan, a state cabinet minister voted along with family members, while in Mehsana, a Rajya Sabha MP also exercised his franchise and encouraged voter turnout. Similar participation was seen in Surat, where a senior विधानसभा official cast his vote at a designated polling station.
In Kutch district, voting is being held for hundreds of seats with over 15 lakh voters expected to decide the outcome. Meanwhile, Banaskantha is witnessing polling for multiple district and taluka panchayat seats, along with municipal positions, involving a significant number of voters.
Despite extensive preparations, a few incidents were reported. In Panchmahal’s Godhra, a fire broke out at a polling station due to a short circuit in an air-conditioning unit, though authorities managed to control the situation promptly without any casualties. In Rajkot, a malfunctioning EVM machine caused a brief disruption before being replaced.
Additionally, in Gir Somnath, police detained an individual linked to a political candidate for allegedly distributing liquor and cash to influence voters, seizing materials worth several lakh rupees.
With high temperatures posing a challenge, authorities and leaders have urged citizens to step out and vote, emphasizing the importance of participation in strengthening grassroots democracy.