Overview
- The State Election Commission, which announced the schedule Wednesday, set voting for April 26 and counting for April 28 as the Model Code of Conduct took effect statewide.
- Nomination filing runs April 6–11 with scrutiny on April 13 and withdrawals by April 15, while polling will use EVMs from 7 am to 6 pm with any repoll on April 27.
- The exercise spans 15 municipal corporations, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats, and 260 taluka panchayats, covering about 4.18 crore voters, though outlets differ on total seats from 9,011 to about 10,039.
- Several towns vote as municipal corporations for the first time after upgrades, including Nadiad, Navsari, Morbi, Vapi, Gandhidham, Porbandar, Mehsana, Surendranagar, and Anand-Karamsad.
- Reservation changes shape candidate choices, with a 27% OBC quota in place and seven district panchayat president posts reserved for OBCs under the Zaveri Commission’s rotation.