Gandhinagar, April 27, 2025: Gujarat's local body elections are in full swing on Sunday, April 27, with millions of voters heading to polling stations across municipal corporations, municipalities, district panchayats, and taluka panchayats in one of the state's most expansive grassroots democratic exercises. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel are among the prominent leaders casting their votes in Ahmedabad today, as the State Election Commission oversees polling from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

VIP Voting: Where Gujarat's Top Leaders Are Casting Their Ballots

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to vote at approximately 11 a.m. at a polling station located near Kameshwar Mahadev temple in the Naranpura area of Ahmedabad. He will exercise his franchise at the Naranpura sub-zonal office as part of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) elections, and is expected to be accompanied by family members.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel is set to vote at around 10 a.m. at Shilaj Primary School in Ahmedabad, making him one of the first senior leaders to cast his ballot today.

BJP state president Jagdish Vishwakarma will vote at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel school complex in Thakkarbapanagar, while Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi will cast his vote at Central School in Ichhanath, Surat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, consistent with his practice during the previous two municipal election cycles, will participate via postal ballot. Notably, PM Modi has voted in person during Assembly and Lok Sabha elections held in Ahmedabad, making his postal ballot choice specific to civic polls.

Scale of the Election: Nearly 10,000 Seats Across Gujarat

The scale of Gujarat's 2025 local body elections is enormous. Across the state, nearly 10,000 seats are being contested spanning municipal corporations, municipalities, district panchayats, and taluka panchayats — covering both urban centres and rural districts.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) alone accounts for 192 seats across 48 wards, making it one of the most closely watched battlegrounds in the state. The total electorate across all local bodies spans over four crore registered voters in Gujarat.

Polling stations have been set up across a vast network of urban and rural locations, with extensive security and administrative machinery deployed to ensure smooth conduct. In Ahmedabad alone, thousands of security personnel have been stationed across booths.

Security, Administration, and Counting Schedule

The State Election Commission of Gujarat has confirmed that polling is being conducted strictly between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. using EVMs. Officials have put in place multi-layered security arrangements, particularly in sensitive wards across urban local bodies.

Vote counting is scheduled for April 28, 2025, meaning results for all contested local body seats — including the high-stakes AMC elections — will be declared within 24 hours of polling closing.

The election machinery managing this exercise involves thousands of polling officials, security forces, and administrative staff coordinated by the State Election Commission under a multi-tier framework.

Political Stakes: A Crucial Test for BJP's Grassroots Dominance

These local body elections carry significant political weight beyond their civic mandate. For the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has dominated Gujarat politics for over two decades, the results will serve as a real-time barometer of grassroots support ahead of future state and national elections.

The Congress party and regional outfits are contesting aggressively, particularly in urban wards where anti-incumbency over civic issues — water supply, roads, waste management, and property taxes — could dent the ruling party's performance.

This comes amid a broader national trend where urban local body elections have increasingly reflected voter frustration with municipal governance, even in states where the ruling party commands strong legislative majorities. Gujarat's 2021 local body elections saw the BJP sweep most urban bodies, setting a high bar that the party now seeks to defend.

Analysts also note that the participation of senior leaders like Amit Shah and CM Patel in the voting process is a deliberate signal of the BJP's seriousness about local governance — a narrative the party has been building since its urban development push under the Smart Cities Mission.

With vote counting set for April 28, all eyes will be on the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation results as the first major indicator of the political mood across Gujarat's cities and villages.