Ahmedabad

Polling for the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly polls started at 8 am on Thursday as 788 candidates fight for the 89 seats in 19 districts.

The voting will continue till 5 pm. Long queues were visible in the rural as well as urban areas.

Bigwigs whose fate will be sealed in the EVM in the first phase includes education minister Jitu Vaghani, finance minister Kanu Desai, agriculture minister Raghavji Patel, minister of state for home Harsh Sanghvi, former civil supplies minister Jayesh Radadiya.

From the Congress, former leader of opposition Paresh Dhanani, former GPCC president Arjun Modhvadia, party's three working presidents, Lalit Kagathra, Ambrish Der and Rutvik Makwana are contesting the polls.

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The voters of Saurashtra and Kutch will be voting in 54 seats, and those in South Gujarat will vote for 35 MLAs.