Elect to cross river and it's backfired, creating whirlpools (8)
I believe the answer is:
vortexes
'whirlpools' is the definition.
('vortex' can be a synonym of 'whirlpool')
'elect to cross river and it's backfired' is the wordplay.
'elect' becomes 'vote'.
'to cross' is an insertion indicator.
'river' becomes 'r'.
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'it's backfired' becomes 'xes' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'vote' placed around 'r' is 'vorte'.
'vorte'+'xes'='VORTEXES'
'creating' acts as a link.
(Another definition for vortexes that I've seen is " Eddies".)