Gujarat poll dates announced after PM Modi's spree of launching 11,760 crore worth of projects

Opposition parties alleged that the ECI's announcement came after PM Modi inaugurated projects worth thousands of crores in Gujarat

The voting for the Assembly polls in Gujarat will be conducted in two phases on December 1 and 5, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Thursday – more than a fortnight after it declared the schedule for voting in Himachal Pradesh.

The counting of votes in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, however, will take place on the same day – December 8.

Over 4.90 crore voters are expected to cast their votes to elect the 182 members of Gujarat’s Legislative Assembly, which has 13 seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 27 others for the Scheduled Tribes. The first phase of polling on December 1 will cover 89 constituencies, while the remaining 93 will go to polling on December 5, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said, as he and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey addressed a press conference on Thursday.

The EC announced the schedule of the Assembly polls and brought into force the Model Code of Conduct in Gujarat, just two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned from a visit to his home state, where he dedicated or laid the foundation stones of development projects worth about Rs 11,760 crore. He also laid the foundation stone of a facility at Vadodara in Gujarat where a joint venture of the Airbus and the Tata Advanced System Limited would manufacture C-295 aircraft.

The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) criticised the ECI for not announcing the schedule of polls in Gujarat on October 14, when it had declared it for Himachal Pradesh. They alleged that the announcement of the poll schedule in Gujarat had been delayed to avert imposition of the Model Code of Conduct before the Prime Minister could lay the foundation stones of the development projects, which could give the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) an undue advantage in the electoral battle.

Also Read | EC must give explanation why it announced polls for Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat on separate dates: Congress

The voting for the 68-member Legislative Assembly in Himachal Pradesh will take place in a single phase on November 12.

The Chief Election Commissioner, however, defended the ECI’s decision for not announcing the schedule of polls for Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat on the same day. He said that the commission had to take into account many issues while deciding on announcement of poll dates, including weather, last date of the term of the current Assembly and the number of days when the Model Code of Conduct would be in force.

He pointed out that the ECI had announced the schedule of the polls more than 100 days ahead of the end of the term of the current Assembly in Gujarat on February 18, 2023.

The term of the current Himachal Pradesh Assembly will end on January 8, 2023 – about 40 days before that of the state Assembly of Gujarat.

“We also had to take note of the tragedy that had befallen the state,” the CEC said, referring to the death of over 135 people due to the collapse of a pedestrian suspension bridge at Morbi in Gujarat on October 30. “That was also one factor for the delay. There was state mourning in the state till yesterday (Wednesday). So, it (delay in announcing schedule) is (because of) multiple factors.”

The BJP has been in power in Gujarat for more than 25 years. But with the Congress and the AAP trying to put up a challenge to the saffron party, the Prime Minister has been frequently visiting his home state since early this year, often either announcing or laying foundation stones of new projects or inaugurating the already completed ones. He had already inaugurated and laid foundation stones of government projects to the tune of Rs 1.10 lakh crore in as many as 18 out of 33 districts by October 20.