The Election Commission on Friday announced the dates for Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections 2022, but contrary to expectations did not announce the schedule for Gujarat elections.
In a press conference, Chief Election Commission Rajiv Kumar said Himachal Pradesh will vote in single-phase elections on November 12 and results will be declared after counting of votes on December 8.
Asked by the mediapersons present on why the EC did not announce Gujarat election dates along with Himachal Pradesh, CEC Rajiv Kumar said it went by the convention set in 2017 when elections to both states were announced separately.
Citing weather in Himachal Pradesh as one of the reasons why elections in the states have been announced first, the Election Commission said polls in one state will not affect elections in the other as “there is a gap of 40 days", referring to the gap between the end of tenure of both Assemblies.
CEC Kumar had last month visited Gujarat and met state officials and representatives of political parties to review the preparedness of the state administration for conducting the elections.
What Happened in 2017?
In 2017, the Himachal Pradesh elections were announced on October 13, while Gujarat elections were announced on October 25.
The HP elections were held on November 9, 2017 while Gujarat had voted in two phases on December 9 and December 14. The results for both states, however, were announced on December 18, 2017.
The opposition Congress had then alleged that the ruling BJP was trying to delay the Gujarat Assembly polls for “last-minute efforts" to woo the people of the state with sops announced by the prime minister.
The 2022 Contest
Gujarat will see a three-cornered contest between BJP, Congress and AAP. The elections are crucial for the ruling BJP which aims to retain power in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while the Congress hopes for a win after remaining out of power for 27 years in the key state. For new entrant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the elections will be an opportunity to emerge as a pan-nation party.
Gujarat has seen frequent visits of top national leaders ahead of the elections, and parties are firming up their strategies. PM Modi was on a whirlwind tour of Gujarat for two days in the beginning of this month and inaugurated projects worth over Rs 27,000 crore in different parts of the state like Surat, Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad and Ambaji.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah was in Gujarat for two days in September-end and discussed the poll strategy with the local BJP functionaries. He will hold more meetings with them to fine tune the party’s strategy.
AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann also visited Gujarat in the beginning of October. Congress’ Gujarat in-charge Raghu Sharma is campaigning in the state, while national leaders of the party are busy with Bharat Jodo padyatra.
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