Parties welcome Gujarat Assembly poll schedule, exude confidence about victory

With the announcement of Gujarat Assembly poll schedule, all three major political parties in the fray - the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), opposition Congress and new entrant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) - expressed confidence about winning the next month's elections.

The Election Commission on Thursday announced that elections to the 182-member Gujarat Assembly will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5, while counting of votes will be held on December 8.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said his party would once again retain power in the state. "Election Commission has announced dates of Gujarat polls. New voters and the people of state will bless BJP's politics of development and visionary leadership.

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I am of the firm belief that once again lotus will bloom in Gujarat," Patel tweeted. Lotus is the election symbol of the BJP. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been paying visits to Gujarat every week as part of the AAP's campaign, is hopeful of a change of guard in Gujarat.

"People of Gujarat are ready for a big change. We will definitely win," the AAP national convener said in a tweet.

Congress, which has been in the opposition in Gujarat for the last more than 27 years, also said it would emerge victorious. "Seven crore brothers and sisters of Gujarat think that Congress is the only alternative for change in the state," party president Mallikarjun Kharge tweeted.

He also listed 10 promises made by the Congress to the people of Gujarat and said, "Change will come and lives of people of Gujarat will be filled with happiness." The state administration is taking steps for the smooth conduct of the elections.

Posters and hoarding of government advertisements are being removed from all over the state after the poll schedule was announced, an official said. 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.

A notification for the assembly elections will be issued on November 5 and November 10 for the first and the second phases respectively. The last date for filing of nominations will be November 14 and November 17 for the first and second phases respectively.

The nomination papers will be scrutinised on November 15 and November 18. The last date for withdrawal of nominations for the first phase is November 17 and for the second phase it is November 2.

In the 2017 Assembly polls, the BJP had pulled off its sixth consecutive victory by winning 99 seats, while the Congress had put up a spirited fight by bagging 77 seats.

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 polls when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP will bid for their third consecutive government at the Centre.