Gujarat election: From Morbi to Jamnagar North, here are 7 key constituencies of Phase 1

Amid intense campaigning by BJP, Congress and AAP, the polling for the first phase of the Gujarat election will take place on Thursday, December 1. There are 788 candidates including 70 women in the fray for the 89 seats spread across 19 districts of south Gujarat and Kutch-Saurashtra regions going to the polls. In this phase, BJP and Congress are fielding candidates in all the seats. On the other hand, AAP, BSP and BTP are contesting 88, 57 and 14 seats respectively. 2.39 crore people are eligible to vote at 25,434 polling booths. 

Here are 7 key constituencies:

1. Morbi- The election will serve as a litmus test for BJP after 135 persons lost their lives owing to the collapse of a century-old suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi city on October 30. While BJP's Amrutiya Kantilal won from this seat 5 times in a row from 1995 onwards, he lost to Brijesh Merja of Congress by a narrow margin of 3,419 votes in the 2017 Assembly election. Though Merja switched allegiance to BJP later and won the by-election in 2020, the saffron party has reposed faith in Kantilal this time who saved several lives after the bridge collapse. Meanwhile, Congress has given the ticket to Jayantilal Patel who was defeated by Merja in the 2020 bypoll. 
2. Khambalia- AAP's CM face Isudan Gadhvi is making his electoral debut in this seat which has been won by Congress since 2014. A leading journalist, Gadhvi joined the Arvind Kejriwal-led party in June 2021. He is pitted against Vikrambhai Maadam of Congress who beat BJP's Kalubhai Chavda by over 11,000 votes in the previous election. BJP's Mulubhai Bera, who has served as a Minister and MLA from Bhanvad in the past is also in the poll fray.
3. Porbandar- This constituency will once again witness a faceoff between senior Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia and BJP's Babubhai Bokhiria. While Modhwadia won this seat in 2002 and 2007, Bokhiria defeated him in 2012 and 2017. However, Modhwadia who served as the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president from 2011 and 2015 and the Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly from 2002 to 2012 lost by merely 1855 votes last time. In this election, Jivan Jungi of AAP has also filed his nomination. 
4. Katargam- This seat has also become a battle of prestige for AAP as its state president Gopal Italia is contesting from here. A Patidar leader, Italia earned BJP's ire in the run-up to the election after old videos where he abused PM Modi and made a disparaging reference to temples surfaced. He will contest against Vinodbhai Moradiya of the BJP who trounced his nearest rival by a massive margin of 79,230 votes in the 2017 polls. On the other hand, Congress has fielded Kalpesh Variya. 
5. Jamnagar North- This constituency has been abuzz with political activity after BJP declared ace all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja's wife Rivaba as its candidate. Interestingly, the cricketer's sister and father have publicly announced their support for Bipendrasinh Jadeja. Rivaba Jadeja's candidature was perceived as a surprise as BJP's current MLA Merubha Jadeja won this seat in 2017 with a handsome margin of 40,963 votes. AAP's Karshanbhai Karmur is also in the poll fray. 
6. Vyara- This is the only seat that has been sending a Christian candidate to the Gujarat Assembly since 2007. Punabhai Gamit, the aforesaid legislator, has again been nominated by Congress. BJP which hasn't ever won this seat has given a ticket to Mohanbhai Konkani making him the only Christian who has been fielded by the party in this election. It is worth recalling that Gujarat's first tribal CM Amarsinh Chaudhary won from this constituency 4 times from 1972 to 1985. 
7. Varachha Road- BJP's Kishor Kanani, a former Minister, is seeking a third consecutive win from this seat. In the last Assembly polls, he defeated Congress' Dhirubhai Gajera with a margin of 13,998 votes. This time, he is facing stiff competition from AAP's Alpesh Kathiriya. He was a  convenor of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) which organised an agitation demanding reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for the Patidar community. He is one of 3 candidates apart from Gadhvi and Italia whose victory has been predicted by Kejriwal.