5.03 per cent voter turnout was recorded in Gujarat till 9 am, as the voting for the first phase of the Assembly elections is underway. Voting started at 8 am Thursday as 788 candidates fight for the 89 seats up for grabs across 19 districts and will continue till 5 pm across 14,382 polling stations, the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has ruled Gujarat for 27 years, is trying to retain power in the State for the seventh term in a row. If it succeeds, it will equal the record of the Left Front government which won the West Bengal elections for seven consecutive terms till 2011.