EC to announce Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh assembly election dates at 3 PM today

Representational Image (Credits: ANI)

New Delhi: Election Commission (EC) will be announcing the election schedule for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh on Friday 3 PM at Vigyan Bhawan, Delhi. EC has called a press conference today and is likely to brief about the election polls in the two states. 

However, the poll body has not disclosed the reason for the press conference scheduled at Vigyan Bhavan, but it is expected that the election schedule of the two states shall be announced. Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey recently visited the two states to take stock of poll preparedness.

On the one hand, BJP has kickstarted the election campaigns in both states with PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah conducting rallies in the states. On the other hand, Congress is all set to begin its election campaign in Himachal Pradesh where the party’s General Secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be conducting a maha rally “Parivartan Pratigya Rally” in the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh. Apart from the arc-rival parties, Aam Aadmi Party has also stepped into the election fray by extensively conducting rallies in the states. After a massive victory in Punjab, the party is looking to spread its wings to other parts of the country.  

The term of the Gujarat Assembly ends on February 18 next year while that of Himachal Pradesh on January 8, 2023.

In the 182-seated Gujarat Assembly, there are 111 BJP and 62 Congress MLAs at present. The 14th Gujarat Legislative Assembly election was held on December 9 and 14 in 2017 to elect the Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). The votes were counted on 18 December. The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) obtained a simple majority with an increase in the vote share in the last election.

Despite a decrease in the number of seats, the BJP retained its simple majority in the house and formed government for the sixth time. In the results declared for all the 182-seated Gujarat Assembly, BJP won 99 seats, Congress wins 77, 1 seat was won by NCP while Bhartiya Tribal Party and Independent candidate won 2 and 3 seats respectively.

Himachal Pradesh voted to elect its legislative assembly on November 9, 2017. In the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defeated the Congress Party and won 44 seats while Congress secured only 21 seats in 2017. At present, in Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly, the BJP has 45 MLAs, while Congress has 22 and CPIM has 1 MLA.