The elections for the Gujarat Assembly will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5 and counting will be conducted on December 8, the Election Commission of India announced on Thursday.
The ECI on Thursday released the timetable for the assembly elections in Gujarat.
51,782 polling places will be established across Gujarat’s 182 assembly seats, according to the Election Commission’s announcement on Thursday. The polling agency also stated that 1,274 of the total polling places will be run by female poll workers and security guards.
The 182-member Gujarat assembly’s current term expires on February 18 of the following year.
While AAP is trying to establish itself in the state, Congress, which fought hard against the BJP in the previous assembly elections, is working to topple the ruling party in Gujarat.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has entered the fray this time to turn the Gujarat Assembly elections into a three-cornered battle, when previous polls have mostly been between two parties.
The polling body, which had faced criticism from opposition parties for not announcing the polls concurrently with Himachal Pradesh, had justified its choice by arguing that the states were not geographically adjacent and that it was consistent with earlier decisions.
On allegations of delaying polling dates due to the PM’s visit to Gujarat, CEC Rajiv Kumar said, “Recently a very tragic incident occurred there (Morbi Bridge collapse)- one of the reasons why we delayed. Also, there was state mourning in the state yesterday; so multiple factors.”
Follow on Twitter | Posted by P N Sree Harsha | 
