NE NEWS BUREAU
NEW DELHI, NOV 3
The Election Commission of India on Thursday announced two phases of poll schedule on December 1 and 5 and the counting and declaration of results on December 8, for the 182-member Gujarat Assembly. The Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced the poll schedule at a press conference in the presence of the Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey at Akashwani Bhavan in New Delhi.
Schedule for GE to the Legislative Assembly of Gujarat.
#GujaratElections2022 #ECI pic.twitter.com/0A6CSUIJV5— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) November 3, 2022
The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule, hardly one week after it announced polls to the 68-seat Himachal Pradesh House.
In Gujarat, as per the electoral roll published on 10.10.2022, over 4.9 crore electors are registered, out of which ~ 4.04 lakh are PwD electors; over 9.8 lakh 80+ senior citizens & 4.61 lakh first-time voters. #ECI #GujaratElections2022 #SSR pic.twitter.com/v6sVI8uC4M
— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) November 3, 2022
In Gujarat, as per the electoral roll published on October 10, over 4.9 crore electors are registered, out of which 4.04 lakh are PwD electors; over 9.8 lakh 80-plus senior citizens and 4.61 lakh first-time voters.
For enhanced voting experience, 1,274 polling stations will be completely managed by women polling and security staff. For the first time, to motivate young voters, 33 polling stations will be set up and managed by the youngest available polling staff.
ECI’s special emphasis on the participation of third-gender voters in the election process. Special camps organised in each district to facilitate enrolment. In Gujarat, the number of registered third-gender voters in 2022 doubled in comparison to 2017.
Citing the convention followed in 2017, the election commission had not announced the Gujarat election schedule when it came out with Himachal Pradesh poll dates last month.
In Gujarat, the BJP had pulled off its sixth consecutive victory winning 99 seats in the last polls, while the Congress put up a spirited fight by bagging 77 seats. In percentage terms, the BJP had polled 49.05 per cent of the valid votes, while the Congress had polled 42.97 per cent.
The Congress witnessed a series of defections after the assembly elections and the BJP increased its tally in the House to 111. The Congress numbers were reduced to 62.
In Himachal Pradesh, the voting will be held in a single phase on November 12, while the counting of votes will take place on December 8.
Opposition parties questioned the rationale behind ECI’s move of not announcing elections in Gujarat along with Himachal Pradesh on October 15. They alleged it was done to help the ruling BJP announce more pre-election sops.
Chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar said no rules were violated in not announcing poll dates for Gujarat along with Himachal. “There is a gap of 40 days between the end of the assemblies of the two states [Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat].
According to the rules, it should be at least 30 days so that one result does not impact the other,” Kumar added. The BJP is in power in both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
