The Election Commission on Friday announced that the much-anticipated state elections of the state of Himachal Pradesh will be held on November 12 and its results will be announced on December 8.
With the announcement of the assembly poll timetable by the Election Commission, political activity in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh is expected to pick up. This will be the first time in almost two years that state elections will be held without draconian coronavirus restrictions.
“Coronavirus is no longer much of a concern,” Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Shukla said, addressing the media briefer on Friday.
Himachal Pradesh has 68 assembly seats and 35 is the majority. The state has about 55 lakh eligible voters for 68 assembly seats. According to the EC, 1.86 lakh of them are first-time voters, while 1.22 lakh are beyond the age of 80.
Himachal Pradesh has a 68-member assembly and the BJP had won a clear majority by winning 44 seats in the 2017 elections. The Congress managed to win 21 seats, Independents bagged two seats and the CPI(M) emerged victorious on one seat.
In percentage terms, the BJP won 48.79 per cent of the total valid votes, followed by the Congress (41.68 per cent) and Independents (6.34 per cent).
The Commission did not announce the elections for the Gujarat assembly, the term of which ends on February 18, 2023. The CEC said the Commission was following past precedence in keeping the announcing in abeyance the schedule for the Gujarat assembly.
Earlier this year, when elections were conducted in five states: Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Gujarat, Goa, and Punjab, India had a rise in Covid cases due to a new variety – Omicron – that had taken some nations off guard. The variation had pushed authorities in several of India’s major cities to reinstate stricter controls. Meanwhile, the BJP, which governs both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, is aiming for an easy return to power in both states.
With inputs from PTI.
