Morning Pulse: Gandhinagar votes at 59%, Mevani is booked, and an Ahmedabad drain still has no map

Since last night, Gandhinagar's civic vote has a final number, a disputed booth or two and a police case against an opposition MLA. Ahmedabad, meanwhile, is still searching for a ten-year-old girl who fell into a sewage line on Saturday. One story is about who will run a city. The other is about what running a city should mean.

Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation recorded 59.25% turnout when polling closed at 6 pm on Sunday, according to State Election Commission figures reported by PTI and IANS. That is 1,54,045 voters out of about 2.6 lakh. Sandesh reported the corporation's previous election drew 56.04%, so Sunday's figure is the higher of the two. The SEC called the numbers tentative.

The 1 pm gender gap we flagged last evening narrowed but did not close. Men finished at 62.36% and women at 56.02%, per IANS. Ward 4 led at 74.78%. Ward 5 was lowest, below 49%. Elsewhere, Thara municipality in Banaskantha polled 81.18% and Okha in Devbhumi Dwarka 56.44%. In Okha, four of 36 seats had already gone unopposed. SEC Joint Commissioner N K Damor said voting was peaceful.

Polling day was not free of friction. Sandesh reported a scuffle between BJP and Congress workers at a booth in Khoraj, Ward 11, which police broke up before voting resumed. In Ward 2, Congress candidate Suryasinh Dabhi alleged that supporters of the BJP's Kalol MLA covered CCTV cameras at a booth and pressured staff, TV9 Gujarati reported. The BJP's response was not in either report. Police told TV9 the presiding officer had calmed things down, and Sandesh quoted the SP as saying a probe found no such incident.

The sharpest development came late on Sunday. Pethapur police registered an FIR against Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani and seven others, PTI reported. The complaint, filed by Inspector A M Desai, relates to 8 October. That night, Ward 4 Congress candidate Yunus Parmar was called in for questioning over an alleged threat to a BJP campaigner. Police allege the group obstructed the inspector, stopped Parmar's statement being recorded, raised slogans and shared a video that could stoke tension. The FIR invokes BNS sections on rioting, unlawful assembly, obstruction and intimidation. No one had been arrested by Sunday night. Mevani's response has not been reported.

Counting for Gandhinagar, Okha, Thara and the bypolls in Kheralu, Chhota Udepur, Bayad and several panchayats is set for Tuesday. EVMs are in strong rooms. In 2021 the BJP won 41 of 44 seats, Congress two and AAP one. Pulse makes no prediction.

In Ahmedabad, the girl who fell into a drain near the Pirana landfill on Saturday afternoon had not been found after more than 30 hours, Gujarat Samachar and Sandesh reported. She is visually impaired and stepped out of an autorickshaw while her mother paid the fare, police told PTI. Fire teams have searched the Sabarmati and pumping stations about 3 km downstream. Toxic fumes keep divers out. Fire officials, speaking anonymously, said the AMC's drainage wing had not given them a map of the line. The AMC's engineering department has described the line as a main trunk sewer for east Ahmedabad. Neither paper reported a formal inquiry. The mayor visited the site.

Today, Ahmedabad hosts the BRICS Traditional and Indigenous Sports Demonstration Games at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Naranpura. Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is due to open the event, with Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi attending, according to ANI. It is a non-competitive showcase. Mallakhamb, kalaripayattu, capoeira and sambo are among the sports. It is also the second day of Navratri.

Nationally, the INDIA bloc plans a fresh Delhi protest today over the electoral roll revision and Saturday's police action against protesters, The Statesman reported. Congress has asked all its MPs to stay in the capital. We found no confirmed report of Gujarat Congress or AAP leaders joining. No new Ahmedabad protest has been reported since Saturday's detentions near MJ Library.