Ahmedabad | Voting began on Sunday for the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) elections, along with polls in Okha and Thara municipalities and bypolls to seats in various local bodies across Gujarat.

Elections are being held for all 44 seats across 11 wards of the GMC, where 130 candidates are in the fray. The main contest is between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and Aam Aadmi Party.

Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.

The GMC, which has around 2.59 lakh voters, last went to polls in October 2021, when the BJP won 41 of the 44 seats, while Congress secured two seats and the AAP one.

In Okha municipality, polling is being held for 32 of the total 36 seats across nine wards, with four seats having been won unopposed. As many as 75 candidates are contesting the remaining seats, according to the State Election Commission (SEC).

In Thara municipality, elections are being held in six wards comprising 24 seats, with 59 candidates in the fray.

Bypolls are also being held for one seat each in the Kheralu, Chhota Udepur and Bayad municipalities, besides seats in various district and taluka panchayats.

Counting of votes is scheduled for October 13. Repolling, if required, will be held on Monday.

The SEC has made arrangements for extensive police deployment and patrolling, particularly at sensitive and hyper-sensitive polling stations, to ensure free and peaceful voting.

The elections are being conducted through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

The SEC had announced the election schedule on September 16, following which the model code of conduct came into force.