'Well ahead of schedule', says EC on delay in announcing Gujarat elections dates
Congress party previously stated that the Gujarat Assembly election dates were not announced along with Himachal Pradesh to give the ruling BJP enough time to make "mega promises and inaugurations."
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FollowThe Election Commission, on Thursday, explained why the Gujarat poll schedule announcement for the upcoming assembly elections was delayed, dismissing all allegations of bias.
According to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, they announced the election dates 110 days before the Gujarat assembly's term expired. And there will be a 72-day gap between the counting of the results and the end of the assembly in the state. "We are well ahead of schedule," said Kumar.
Kumar explained that they had to balance many things prior to the announcement of dates. "Many factors, such as the availability of forces, weather, and several other factors, must be considered before the poll dates announcement," said Kumar after questions were raised about why the poll body delayed announcing the Gujarat election dates.
While citing many factors for the delay in announcing the Gujarat election date, the CEC said, "Recently, a very tragic incident occurred there (Morbi), which was one of the reasons why we delayed. There was also mourning in the state yesterday, so, as previously said, there are multiple factors for the delay." The CEC chairman also said that the poll body had not violated any rules in announcing the Gujarat election dates.
The Congress party has earlier said that the dates of the Gujarat Assembly election were not announced along with Himachal Pradesh to provide enough time for the ruling BJP to make 'mega promises and inaugurations.'
The Election Commission also claimed that an ongoing attempt is being made to create a negative atmosphere ahead of the polls and that the poll body is aware of it. "We are completely impartial," the CEC chief stressed.
The Gujarat Assembly election will be held in two phases. The first voting phase will occur on December 1, and the second phase will occur on December 5. The counting of votes will take place on December 8, along with the counting of Himachal Polls.
Voting for 89 of Gujarat's 182 assembly seats will take place on December 1 and the remaining 93 seats on December 5.
Gujarat has a 182-member assembly, and the BJP won 99 seats in the last elections, its sixth consecutive victory, while the Congress put up an intense fight, taking 77 seats. In percentage terms, the BJP received 49.05 per cent of valid votes, while the Congress received 42.97 per cent.
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