Election Commission to announce schedule for Assembly polls in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh

New Delhi: The Election Commission is likely to announce schedule for assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh on Friday.

The poll body has convened a press conference at 3 pm but has not yet announced the reason.

According to sources, EC will hold a press briefing this afternoon where it is expected to announce the dates for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections.

The press conference will be held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

The term of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly will end in January next year, while that of Gujarat in February 2023.

In the 182-seated Gujarat Assembly, there are 111 BJP and 62 Congress MLAs at present.

The 14th Gujarat Legislative Assembly election was held on December 9 and 14 in 2017 to elect the Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). The votes were counted on 18 December.

Last month, the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey visited Gujarat and Himachal to review poll preparedness.

The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) obtained a simple majority with an increase in the vote share in the last election. Despite a decrease in the number of seats, the BJP retained its simple majority in the house and formed government for the sixth time.

In the results declared for all the 182-seated Gujarat Assembly, BJP won 99 seats, Congress wins 77, 1 seat was won by NCP while Bhartiya Tribal Party and Independent candidate won 2 and 3 seats respectively.

Himachal Pradesh voted to elect its legislative assembly on November 9, 2017.

In the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defeated the Congress Party and won 44 seats while Congress secured only 21 seats in 2017.

At present, in Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly, the BJP has 45 MLAs, while Congress has 22 and CPIM has 1 MLA.

In the upcoming state elections, The AAP is looking to set foot in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

In Gujarat, AAP could not open its account in the previous Assembly elections. After a massive victory in Punjab, the party is looking to spread its wings to other parts of the country.

Meanwhile, in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress is gearing up to challenge the BJP.

With the announcement of the election schedule in both states, the model code of conduct will come into force.

With inputs from agencies

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