Modi claims victory as Gujarat votes in second phase (Lead)

Dec 16, 2007, 8:13 GMT

Ahmedabad, Dec 16 (IANS) A confident Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi claimed that his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would sweep the assembly elections as tens of thousands voted in the second and final phase Sunday.

BJP leader and prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani also made a similar assertion as brisk polling took place in 95 constituencies spread over central and northern regions in a do-or-die battle between the BJP and the Congress.

After casting his vote in Ranip area of Sarkhej constituency, Modi flashed a V sign to his cheering supporters. 'The BJP is fighting for the future of Gujarat. I am sure we will get an unprecedented majority,' he told reporters.

A large crowd of Modi fans who had been waiting for the chief minister went wild as he reached the polling booth, screaming in unison: 'Modi! Modi!'

Modi's cabinet colleague Amit Shah is contesting from Sarkhej, the biggest seat in size and number of voters in Sunday's phase involving 599 candidates. A total of 18.7 million voters are eligible to vote.

The chief minister, who has turned the Gujarat ballot as a Modi-versus-Congress battle, himself is pitted against central minister Dinsha Patel in the adjoining constituency of Maninagar in Ahmedabad.

Shortly before Modi spoke, Advani voted in Shahpur constituency of Ahmedabad amid chaos after an electronic voting machine (EVM) at the polling booth failed to function.

Advani told reporters later: 'The BJP is going to win in both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. And the results are going to decide the timing of the mid-term (parliamentary) elections.'

Several heavyweights from the BJP, which has ruled Gujarat for almost a decade barring a short break, and the Congress, which is desperate to oust the BJP, are in the fray.

Issues of security and terrorism dominated the acrimonious campaign in the second round. Developmental issues, with which the campaign began in the state, took a back seat.

Among the other high profile contenders Sunday are cabinet ministers Anandiben Patel, Amit Shah, Prabhatsinh Chauhan and Ashok Bhatt. Congress veteran Narhari Amin is also in the fray.

In the 2002 elections, the BJP swept central Gujarat and also dominated the northern region of the state in the aftermath of communal violence. The Congress is making a determined bid to bounce back to power.

The first phase of the Gujarat assembly election took place Dec 11.

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service