Congress activists create ruckus over tickets distribution in poll-bound Gujarat

Ahmedabad, Nov.23 (ANI): Ahead of elections in Gujarat, Congress activists created a ruckus over distribution of election tickets.

They protested outside the state Congress office in Ahmedabad.

A protesting Congress leader Prafful Lal Talsania said: "This is our demand to give election tickets to locals, so we have collected signatures of 2,000 people to change this arrangement wherein outsiders have been benefited. So we want this to be changed in the interests of the people of Kalol."

The activists also appealed to senior Congress leaders to intervene in the matter and facilitate better distribution of tickets to local candidates.

Seeking votes ahead of state polls, various political parties are making efforts to lure the electorate with tall promises by orating about issues like corruption and crimes among others.

The rift between BJP and Congress has always been in the limelight, this time targeting Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh to fetch votes in order to elect a new government.

The first phase of the Gujarat assembly polls will take place on December 13, while the second will be held on December 17.

Counting of votes will take place on December 20.

Over 35,000 troopers from the paramilitary forces and at least 55,000 state police personnel are likely to be deployed for the upcoming assembly polls in Gujarat that has 182 assembly constituencies, 13 of which are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) and 26 for Scheduled Tribe (ST) with 3.78 crore (approximately 38 million) voters who waiting to exercise their franchise after being ruled by Narendra Modi for over a decade.

Modi is seen as the strongest candidate of BJP during general elections in two years, thanks to rapid growth and a perception of corruption-free governance in his state, which has 5 percent of India's population but contributes 16 percent to national industrial output. (ANI)