- Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey reach Gujarat
NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, SEP 26
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Gujarat chief CR Paatil on Monday claimed the upcoming Assembly elections in the state are likely to get over by November-end, unlike the last two polls that went on till mid-December.
The Commission is reviewing poll preparedness with district officials, enforcement agencies and would be meeting Chief Secretary and DGP tomorrow . The Commission announces poll schedule after taking a holistic review of logistics and preparations. #AssemblyElections https://t.co/bf6aORO5pu pic.twitter.com/j2tQCCep04
— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) September 26, 2022
Paatil, who was addressing a “page samiti sammelan” in Anand city, some 80 kilometres away from Ahmedabad, however, was quick to add this was his “political estimation” and that he had not spoken to any poll authority.
An ECI team led by CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar along with EC Shri Anup Chandra Pandey arrived at Ahmedabad airport today to review the poll preparedness for forthcoming Assembly Elections in #Gujarat #ECI #AssemblyElections pic.twitter.com/bQ5GHWlN7x
— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) September 26, 2022
Patil, who was addressing party workers in Anand city, said, “We should be ready for elections. There is a possibility that elections will be held 10 to 15 days prior to schedule and end before November.”
Patil’s remarks, which coincided with Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar’s two-day Gujarat visit, led to a sharp reaction from the Opposition. Gujarat Congress leader Deepak Babaria said that Patil’s statement showed how the BJP-ruled central government has “weakened and hijacked” constitutional authorities like the Election Commission.
#AVSAR નવરાત્રીનો હોય કે ચૂંટણી પર્વનો, ગુજરાતનો મતદાર ચૂકશે નહિ@ECISVEEP#CEOGujarat #AVSAR #Navratri #GujaratElections2022 pic.twitter.com/iCsdkIcp1l
— Chief Electoral Officer, Gujarat (@CEOGujarat) September 26, 2022
Patil later clarified to reporters in Vadodara that his statement was merely based on activities of the Election Commission India (ECI) in poll-bound states of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
“I think the elections might get over by November-end because of the way the Election Commission has informed the officers to prepare for the polls. I had made it clear that I haven’t talked to anyone regarding this and this is just my political estimation,” Patil said.
Gujarat Assembly elections schedule is likely to be announced in October this year, sources informed ABP News. The Gujarat assembly election is expected to be concluded by end of the Novemeber 2022.
Sources claim that schedule for the elections in Gujarat will be released on October 22 or 23. The voting, as per sources, is likely to be held in the third and fourth week of November.
આ કાર્યક્રમમાં પ્રદેશ મહામંત્રીશ્રી @pradipsinhbjp જી, પ્રદેશ મુખ્ય પ્રવકતાશ્રી @yamalavyas જી, પ્રદેશ સહ-પ્રવકતાશ્રી @dangarbharat જી, સાંસ્કૃતિક સેલના સંયોજકશ્રી જનકભાઈ ઠક્કર, શ્રી યોગેશદાન ગઢવી સહિત કલાકારો તેમજ પ્રદેશના પદાધિકારીઓ, સાંસ્કૃતિક સેલના હોદ્દેદારો ઉપસ્થિત રહ્યા. pic.twitter.com/q52yGZQDUD
— C R Paatil (Modi Ka Parivar) (@CRPaatil) September 26, 2022
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey reached Gujarat on Monday to take a stock of the preparations for the upcoming assembly elections.
However, Patil’s remark comes exactly on the day when Kumar and Anup Chandra Pandey began their two-day visit to Gujarat, highlighting that the election schedule may change this year.
Since 1998, the BJP has held sway in Gujarat, and the primary opposition Congress came perilously close to ousting it in the most recent assembly elections in 2017. But during the previous five years, a number of Congress politicians have defected to the BJP, and the AAP now seems to be stealing the show in the election campaigning as it looks to increase its influence across the nation.
