December 28, 2024

Election Commission to announce schedule for assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh today

Spread the love

Bureau Report, The Himachal Herald

The Election Commission of India will hold a press conference for reportedly the election schedule announcement of Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh today.

The poll body has convened a press conference at 3 pm but has not yet announced the reason. The term of the Gujarat Assembly ends on February 18 next year while that of Himachal Pradesh on January 8, 2023. The Commission had recently visited the two states to take stock of poll preparedness.
Home to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gujarat election is seen as a semi-final ahead of General Elections 2024. BJP has been conducting ‘Gaurav Yatra’-led by its top leadership in the state to retain power again.
Notably, the ‘Gaurav Yatra’ has been fruitful to the saffron party so far. The first ‘Yatra’ was taken out by the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, after the communal riots and before the 2002 state Assembly elections and it produced desired results for the saffron party. The second ‘Gaurav Yatra’ was organised in 2017 ahead of that year’s state polls. In 2002, the BJP had won 127 out of the total 182 seats. In 2017, the saffron party bagged 99 seats and the opposition Congress 77. In 2017 Himachal Pradesh BJP won 43 seats, Congress 22, one of CPIM and two Independent MLAs.