Editor's Pick: Phase 1 of Gujarat polls ends

On Thursday, polling concluded in the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections with a turnout of 60.35%. Nineteen districts in South Gujarat, the Saurashtra region and Kutch went to the polls in this phase. The Election Commission said polling was peaceful, despite some glitches in electronic voting machines at a few places which were later fixed. As many as 788 candidates were in the fray in 89 seats. The BJP is eyeing a seventh successive win in Gujarat. While its main Opposition has been the Congress all these years, the Aam Aadmi Party’s growth this time has turned the contest triangular in some areas. The AAP has focused on welfare schemes during its campaign. But the extent of its impact is difficult to gauge given the lack of party structure on the ground and a top-down approach to campaigning, pointed out The Hindu editorial. While elections are generally characterised by high-pitched campaigns and controversies, this election has been fairly muted, largely due to the Congress’s subdued electioneering. The Congress has desisted from attacking the Prime Minister, as it did on previous occasions. The BJP has once again centered its campaign around the politics and persona of Mr. Modi, and emotive issues. Increasingly, expanding consensus on the Gujarat model has narrowed the differences between the BJP and the Congress, which might affect the BJP more, argues Varghese George. In the CSDS-Lokniti surveys on governance and development in the State, voters said the issues that concerned them the most were price rise and unemployment. They also had mixed opinions on development in Gujarat and expressed a desire for a third alternative in the State. However, they also showed satisfaction with the BJP government in Gujarat and were divided on whether the AAP could win the elections (Read the whole package of CSDS-Lokniti surveys here). As the editorial too pointed out, concerns over development and governance may not affect the BJP; the party has steered clear of addressing these in its campaigns too. As this is a high-stakes election for the BJP and a crucial contest for the AAP, which is trying to expand its presence in north India, this is the top pick of the day. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more. Click here. The Hindu’s Editorials Dispiriting politics: On the BJP’s Gujarat campaign Mixed bag: On the latest official GDP estimates The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz In which city is the ₹22,000-crore Tata-Airbus military aircraft manufacturing unit set to be developed? Nagpur Aurangabad Raipur Vadodara To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 02 DECEMBER 2022 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Dear reader, We have now made it easier for you to manage your The Hindu newsletter subscriptions in one place! 1. Visit [The Hindu newsletters page]( 2. Click MANAGE tab and then click LOGIN / SIGN UP 3. If you don’t have an account with The Hindu, please click SIGN UP OR If you already have an account with The Hindu with this email ID, please login using the email ID Phase 1 of Gujarat polls ends On Thursday, polling concluded in the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections with a [turnout of 60.35%](. Nineteen districts in South Gujarat, the Saurashtra region and Kutch went to the polls in this phase. The Election Commission said polling was peaceful, despite some glitches in electronic voting machines at a few places which were later fixed. As many as 788 candidates were in the fray in 89 seats. The BJP is eyeing a seventh successive win in Gujarat. While its main Opposition has been the Congress all these years, the Aam Aadmi Party’s growth this time has turned the contest triangular in some areas. The AAP has focused on welfare schemes during its campaign. But the extent of its impact is difficult to gauge given the lack of party structure on the ground and a top-down approach to campaigning, pointed out [The Hindu editorial.]( While elections are generally characterised by high-pitched campaigns and controversies, this election has been fairly muted, largely due to the Congress’s subdued electioneering. The Congress has desisted from attacking the Prime Minister, as it did on previous occasions. The BJP has once again centered its campaign around the politics and persona of Mr. Modi, and emotive issues. Increasingly, expanding consensus on the Gujarat model has narrowed the differences between the BJP and the Congress, which might affect the BJP more, [argues Varghese George](. In the CSDS-Lokniti surveys on governance and development in the State, voters said the issues that concerned them the most were price rise and unemployment. They also had mixed opinions on development in Gujarat and expressed a desire for a third alternative in the State. However, they also showed satisfaction with the BJP government in Gujarat and were divided on whether the AAP could win the elections (Read the whole package of CSDS-Lokniti surveys [here](. As the editorial too pointed out, concerns over development and governance may not affect the BJP; the party has steered clear of addressing these in its campaigns too. As this is a high-stakes election for the BJP and a crucial contest for the AAP, which is trying to expand its presence in north India, this is the top pick of the day. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more. [Click here.]( The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Dispiriting politics: On the BJP’s Gujarat campaign]( [Arrow][Mixed bag: On the latest official GDP estimates]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz In which city is the ₹22,000-crore Tata-Airbus military aircraft manufacturing unit set to be developed? - Nagpur - Aurangabad - Raipur - Vadodara To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here.]( Today’s Best Reads [[Taliban is allowing LeT and JeM to shift base to Afghanistan, claims former Afghan Security chief] Taliban is allowing LeT and JeM to shift base to Afghanistan, claims former Afghan Security chief]( [[Low voter turnout in first phase of Gujarat Assembly polls] Low voter turnout in first phase of Gujarat Assembly polls]( [[Now use your face as boarding pass at Delhi, Varanasi and Bengaluru airports] Now use your face as boarding pass at Delhi, Varanasi and Bengaluru airports]( [[FIFA World Cup 2022 | Germany crash out of World Cup despite 4-2 win over Costa Rica] FIFA World Cup 2022 | Germany crash out of World Cup despite 4-2 win over Costa Rica]( Copyright @ 2022, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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