NEW DELHI: Gujarat will go to polls in two phases on December 1 and 5 with the counting of votes on December 8 along with that of Himachal Pradesh, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced on Thursday.
Schedule for GE to the Legislative Assembly of Gujarat.
#GujaratElections2022 #ECI pic.twitter.com/0A6CSUIJV5— Election Commission of India #SVEEP (@ECISVEEP) November 3, 2022
Of the total 182 assembly seats in Gujarat, voting for 89 seats will be held on December 1 and the balance 93 seats on December 5.
Gujarat has a 182 member assembly and 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 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.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has trained its sights on Gujarat and has already entered the election mode. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has made several trips to Gujarat in his bid to make inroads for the AAP in the state after a successful foray in Punjab.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been visiting Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh frequently to inaugurate and launch several projects.
Also, these elections along with a few more in other states in 2023 are being seen as crucial in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when Modi and BJP will bid for their third consecutive government at the Centre.
Parties welcome Gujarat Assembly poll schedule, exude confidence about victory
With the announcement of Gujarat Assembly poll schedule, all three major political parties in the fray – the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), opposition Congress and new entrant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) – expressed confidence about winning the next month’s elections.
The Election Commission on Thursday announced that elections to the 182-member Gujarat Assembly will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5, while counting of votes will be held on December 8.
चुनाव आयोग द्वारा गुजरात विधानसभा चुनावों की घोषणा का स्वागत करता हूं।
आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी के नेतृत्व में भाजपा भारी बहुमत से गुजरात में पुनः डबल इंजन की सरकार बनाएगी और आगामी 5 वर्षों के लिए जन आकांक्षाओं को पूरा करने के लिए कटिबद्ध भाव से काम करेगी।
— Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) November 3, 2022
BJP president J P Nadda on Thursday welcomed the announcement of the Gujarat assembly polls and claimed that his party will again form “double engine” government in the state with a big majority under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
In a tweet after the Election Commission announced the poll schedule, Nadda added that the BJP will work with commitment to fulfil people’s aspirations in the next five years.
Beside Nadda, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said his party would once again retain power in the state. “Election Commission has announced dates of Gujarat polls. New voters and the people of state will bless BJP’s politics of development and visionary leadership. I am of the firm belief that once again lotus will bloom in Gujarat,” Patel tweeted.
ગુજરાત વિધાનસભાની ચૂંટણીની જાહેરાત થઈ ચૂકી છે ત્યારે આ વખતે પ્રથમવાર મતદાન કરવા જઈ રહેલ અનેક યુવા મતદાતાઓ સહિત સૌ નાગરિકો ભાજપની વિકાસની રાજનીતિ અને વિઝનરી નેતૃત્વ પ્રત્યે અઢળક પ્રેમ અને વિશ્વાસ સાથે ફરી એકવાર કમળ ખીલવશે તેવો મને દ્રઢ વિશ્વાસ છે. #કમળ_ખીલશે_ગુજરાત_જીતશે
— Bhupendra Patel (@Bhupendrapbjp) November 3, 2022
Lotus is the election symbol of the BJP.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been paying visits to Gujarat every week as part of the AAP’s campaign, is hopeful of a change of guard in Gujarat.
गुजरात की जनता इस बार बड़े बदलाव के लिए तैयार है।
हम ज़रूर जीतेंगे pic.twitter.com/vwNhpaNX6R
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) November 3, 2022
“People of Gujarat are ready for a big change. We will definitely win,” the AAP national convener said in a tweet.
Congress, which has been in the opposition in Gujarat for the last more than 27 years, also said it would emerge victorious.
“Seven crore brothers and sisters of Gujarat think that Congress is the only alternative for change in the state,” party president Mallikarjun Kharge tweeted.
7 करोड़ गुजराती बहन-भाई परिवर्तन के लिए केवल कांग्रेस को विकल्प मानते हैं।@INCGujarat के 8 संकल्प –
1⃣ ₹500 में LPG सिलेंडर
2⃣ 300 यूनिट तक बिजली फ्री
3⃣ ₹10 लाख तक का इलाज व दवाइयां मुफ्त
4⃣ किसानों का ₹3 लाख तक कर्ज माफ
1/2— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) November 3, 2022
He also listed 10 promises made by the Congress to the people of Gujarat and said, “Change will come and lives of people of Gujarat will be filled with happiness.” The state administration is taking steps for the smooth conduct of the elections. Posters and hoarding of government advertisements are being removed from all over the state after the poll schedule was announced, an official said.
Of the total 182 assembly seats in Gujarat, voting for 89 seats will be held on December 1 and the balance 93 seats on December 5. A notification for the assembly elections will be issued on November 5 and November 10 for the first and the second phases respectively.
The last date for filing of nominations will be November 14 and November 17 for the first and second phases respectively. The nomination papers will be scrutinised on November 15 and November 18. The last date for withdrawal of nominations for the first phase is November 17 and for the second phase it is November 2.
In the 2017 Assembly polls, the BJP had pulled off its sixth consecutive victory by winning 99 seats, while the Congress had put up a spirited fight by bagging 77 seats.
These elections along with a few more in other states in 2023 are being seen as crucial in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP will bid for their third consecutive government at the Centre.
Source: Press Trust of India
