Himachal polls on November 12; no dates for Gujarat as Election Commission goes by 2017 convention
New Delhi, October 14
The Assembly poll in Himachal Pradesh would be conducted on November 12 while the counting of votes would take place on December 8, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced today. The poll panel, however, refrained from announcing the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha elections, usually declared simultaneously with the hill state.
Announcement 13 days apart last time
The EC has decided to go by the convention followed in 2017 (HP and Gujarat polls were announced 13 days apart). There is a gap of 40 days between the tenure of the two Assemblies. Rajiv Kumar, Chief Election Commissioner
The term of the 68-member Himachal Assembly ends on January 8, 2023, and that of the Gujarat House on February 18 next year. In 2017, the commission had announced the Himachal elections on October 12 and in Gujarat on October 25. The counting was conducted on December 18.
Confident of win
The Congress had begun preparations much in advance. We are confident of winning in Himachal by a two-thirds majority. Rajeev Shukla, Cong’s HP incharge
Punjab rerun in HP
Himachal will witness a repeat of our electoral success in Punjab. We are fully geared up for the elections. Durgesh Pathak, AAP
Fest of democracy
Election is the biggest festival of democracy. It’s a medium to keep the country and the state on the path of development and good governance. JP Nadda, BJP president
Addressing a press conference here, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar cited past precedent for not announcing the Himachal and Gujarat elections simultaneously. “The Election Commission goes by convention in announcing poll schedules. It has decided to go by the convention which was followed last time. There is a gap 40 days between the tenure of the two Assemblies. The intent was also to reduce the number of days during which the model code of conduct will remain enforced (in Gujarat),” Kumar told reporters when asked about keeping the announcement for Gujarat in abeyance. The CEC also cited weather in Himachal as one of the reasons for the early announcement of elections in the state.
Poll analysts, however, cited the example of Goa and Uttar Pradesh where the elections, despite a 60-day difference in the tenure of the Assemblies, were announced and conducted together. The Goa Assembly’s tenure ended on March 15 (2022) and that of UP’s on May 14, according to the ECI’s statement released then.
Kumar asserted that polls in one state would not affect elections in the other as “there was a gap of 40 days” in the qualifying dates of the state Assemblies. He said the poll notification for the Himachal elections would be issued on October 17. The last date to file nominations will be October 25 and the scrutiny of nominations will take place on October 27. The last date for withdrawal of nominations will be October 29.
The CEC said the poll panel had established social media teams to keep strict vigil on “fake news being spread during elections”. “Social media will be monitored constantly and any fake news will be acted upon immediately with required penal actions,” he said. There would be 7,881 polling stations in the state where the average number of voters per station would be 699, he said.
With over 55 lakh voters eligible to exercise their franchise this time, the ruling BJP has been seeking to overturn the three-decade convention of no ruling party returning to power by defeating the main opposition Congress even though AAP too has been eyeing an electoral debut.
