Himachal Assembly polls on Nov 12, counting on Dec 8; Gujarat dates not announced

The polling for the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly will be held on November 12, and the counting nearly a month later on December 8, the Election Commission (EC) announced on Friday.

The Opposition questioned the almost month-long gap between the polling and counting of votes in Himachal and that the EC did not declare the election schedule for poll-bound Gujarat, particularly as the terms of the two Assemblies end barely 40 days apart.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the decision was "not surprising" and "obviously done" so that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets more time to make "mega promises and inaugurations" in Gujarat.

The DefExpo is to be held in Gandhinagar from October 18 to 22, which the PM will attend. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar attributed the gap to the "convention" set in 2017 when the EC had bifurcated the announcement of the poll schedule of the two states.

In 2017, the EC announced elections to Himachal on October 12 and Gujarat on October 25, with the hill state polling on November 9 and Gujarat on December 9 and 14. The counting took place together on December 18. Kumar also pointed to the weather conditions in Himachal. He said the poll schedule ensures that the model code of conduct this time has not been "unnecessarily extended".

Asked whether the counting of votes for Gujarat will be held along with Himachal on December 8, Kumar said, "when we come for Gujarat (poll announcement), we will tell you this."

He said the EC has "refined" the schedule with the model code period reduced from 70 days to 57 from the 2017 elections and from 81 days to 57 from 2012. The wait for results has been reduced by two weeks compared to the 2017 elections.

The Himachal Assembly's term ends on January 8, while that of Gujarat on February 18.

On distribution of freebies, Kumar said GST will look at all the e-ways and goods which are going to the poll-bound states, even the nearby states. "They have mapped all the godowns, warehouses... sarees, mixers ... all this so that nothing is used (as an inducement)," he said.

Kumar said the EC is awaiting response from political parties by October 19 on its proposal to introduce a fresh proforma where they can explain how they propose the election promises made to voters.

In the 2017 polls in Himachal, the BJP won 44 seats(48.79% votes) and the Congress 21 (41.68%).

The hill state has not repeated a government since 1985, a trend the ruling BJP would like to reverse.