Himachal Pradesh To Undergo Assembly Election on November 12

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India on Friday announced the date for the assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh. The state will undergo voting on November 12th and the results will be declared on December 8.

The EC, however, did not announce the assembly election dates for Gujarat which is also scheduled to undergo elections as the term ends by February 18, 2023. As per the announcement made by EC for Himachal Pradesh elections, the last date of filing nomination would be October 25th. The election will be held in a single phase. The model code of conduct will come into effect from October 17th.

"In Himachal Pradesh, as per the electoral roll published on 10.10.2022, over 55 lakh electors are registered, out of which approximately 55,000 are PwD electors; over 1.22 lakh 80+ senior citizens & 1.86 lakh first-time voters," the EC said earlier in the day.

There are 68 assembly seats out of which 35 are required to claim majority. In the previous elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party won 44 seats (48.79%), whereas Congress bagged 21 assembly seats, CPM gained only one and two seats by independent candidates.

Over Gujarat assembly elections, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told reporters, "We are following the precedent in keeping the announcement of dates for Gujarat in abeyance for now."

He also said that announcing multiple state polls together could lead to longer waits for the declaration of results for some. He said the commission was in consultation with political parties on manifestos. The model code of conduct has been reduced from 70 days to 57 days.

For Himachal Pradesh elections Kumar noted that the Commission has also taken into account weather conditions in the hill since upper regions are covered in snow during the peak of winter.