Gujarat Assembly elections 2022 to be held in TWO PHASES on December 1 and 5; results on December 8: EC

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday said that the Gujarat assembly election 2022 will be held in two phases - on Dec 1 and 5, and the counting of votes will be done on December 8.

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday said that the Gujarat assembly election 2022 will be held in two phases - on Dec 1 and 5 - and the votes will be counted on December 8. The poll panel made this announcement during a press conference held at the Rang Bhavan auditorium of All India Radio.

First phase of Assembly elections in Gujarat to be held on 1st December & second phase on 5th December; counting of votes to be done on 8th December: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar pic.twitter.com/MMgTpxOY4W

— ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2022

Making the announcement, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, along with Election Commissioner Anoop Chandra Pandey, expressed condolences to the victims of the Morbi bridge collapse. At least 135 people died in the incident last Sunday.

CEC said the date of counting for Gujarat Assembly polls will coincide with Himachal Pradesh on the 8th of December. The entire process of Assembly elections will be completed on the 10th of December, CEC Rajiv Kumar added.

The date of counting for Gujarat Assembly polls will coincide with Himachal Pradesh on the 8th of December. The entire process of Assembly elections to be completed on the 10th of December: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar pic.twitter.com/vafbfhJODH

— ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2022

CEC Kumar said that there are over 4.9 crore electors eligible to vote this year, adding that there will be more than 51,000 polling stations set up, including more than 34,000 in rural areas. Ahead of the polls, the Centre has deployed 160 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces to the state.

मुझे बताते हुए खुशी हो रही है कि गुजरात विधानसभा चुनाव में 3,24,422 नए मतदाता इस बार पहली बार मतदान करेंगे। कुल मतदान केंद्र की संख्या 51,782 है। राज्य में स्थापित मतदान स्थलों में से कम से कम 50% मतदान केंद्र पर वेबकास्टिंग की व्यवस्था होगी: मुख्य चुनाव आयुक्त राजीव कुमार,दिल्ली pic.twitter.com/oquTyVOIHZ

— ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) November 3, 2022

The term of the 182-member state Assembly ends on February 18, 2023. After the Gujarat poll dates are announced today, the Model Code of Conduct will come into effect in the state.

The Election Commission had last month announced the polling dates for Himachal Pradesh but it refrained from doing the same for Gujarat. The ECI sources had earlier reported that the voting in Gujarat may be held in two phases in the first week of December. Counting of votes may be done along with Himachal Pradesh on December 8, said sources.

Assembly elections in Gujarat were last held in 2017 when the BJP emerged victorious to secure a fifth straight term in power. Last time, the saffron party won 99 of the 182 seats in the state assembly, while the Congress secured 77.

This year's election is set to be a three-cornered contest between the ruling BJP, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party. Leaders of the saffron party have exuded confidence that they will retain power in Gujarat, while the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP has launched an all-out campaign to woo voters in the state.

Meanwhile, voting for Assembly by-elections in seven vacant seats spread across the states of Maharashtra, Haryana, Bihar, Telangana, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh began on Thursday morning. Polling is being held from 7 am to 6 pm amid tight security and the counting of votes will be conducted on November 6.