Gujarat Assembly elections LIVE updates: The second phase polling concludes

The Congress party on Thursday complained to the Election Commission about a road show undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he cast his vote here during the second phase of the Gujarat Assembly polls.

Registering a complaint on violation of the Model Code of Conduct, Congress spokesperson Nikunj Balar said: "This was a clear breach of the MCC by the Prime Minister.

"After coming out of the polling booth at Ranip, the Prime Minister stood on the steps of the vehicle in which he was travelling and was waving to the crowd on the road. He continued to do so for 10 to 15 minutes.

"Our Legal Cell Chairman Yogesh Ravani registered the complaint with Gujarat's Chief Electoral Officer B.B. Swain and to the Chief Election Commissioner Achal Kumar Joti in Delhi."

Swain, however, said: "I don't have any such information till now about this, but I will check and tell."

Senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram tweeted: "Allowing a roadshow of PM on voting day is a gross violation of code of conduct. It is an election campaign. What is the EC doing?

The first few hours of polling in the second and final phase of the Gujarat elections on Thursday saw very few voters following a dip in the temperature. 10 per cent voting was recorded in two hours, an official said, adding the process will pick up as the day progresses.

There were several complalints made to the Election Commission against the electronic voting machines in and around Vadodara city. At many places, the polling was halted due to such malfunctioning.

Over two crore voters will chose from 851 candidates who are in the fray in this last phase of polling that began in 93 assembly constituencies across 14 districts at 8 a.m. and will continue till 5 p.m.

There were reports of skirmish in Dhanera town in the Banaskantha, where a poll official was attacked by a group, police said.

Many bigwigs, including union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, state Congress chief Bharatsinh Solanki and Patidar leader Hardik Patel have cast their vote.

Jaitley cast his vote in Ahmedabad; Nitin Patel cast his vote from the Kadi region; Solanki reached his native Mendarda village in Borsad to cast his vote and Hardik Patel cast his vote in Viramgam.

At many places in urban areas, people themselves were seen creating awareness and urging members of housing societies to come out and vote.

Though the weather has turned chillier than it was in the first phase on December 9, when Gujarat recorded over 60 per cent polling, it is believed that after the day warms up, more polling will take place.