Gujarat Assembly polls to be held in 2 phases on December 1 & 5, counting on December 8

The term of the 182-member Gujarat Assembly ends on February 18 next year

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, the Election Commission of India announced on Thursday.

The Gujarat Assembly elections will be held in two phases this year.

The first phase of Assembly elections in Gujarat will be held on December 1 and the second phase on December 5.The counting of votes will be held December 8.

Also Read — Gujarat's Gir to have polling station for just one voter

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.

The term of the current Gujarat Assembly ends on February 18 next year.

Here is the full schedule of Gujarat Assembly elections 2022:

Poll Events	1st Phase (89 ACs)	2nd Phase (93 ACs)
Date of issue of Gazette Notification	5th November, 2022 (Saturday)	10th November, 2022 (Thursday)
Last date for making nominations	14th November, 2022 (Monday)	17th November, 2022 (Thursday)
Date for the scrutiny of nominations	15th November, 2022 (Tuesday)	18th November, 2022 (Friday)
Last date for the withdrawal of candidatures	17th November, 2022 (Thursday)	21st November, 2022 (Monday)
Date of Poll	1st December, 2022 (Thursday)	5th December, 2022 (Monday)
Date of Counting	8th December, 2022 (Thursday)	8th December, 2022 (Thursday)
Date before which the election shall be completed	10th December, 2022 (Saturday)	10th December, 2022 (Saturday)

In Gujarat, 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.

(With inputs from PTI)