Polling for the 68-seat Himachal Pradesh Assembly will be held on November 12, and the counting of votes will be on December 8. The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule of the HP polls, but it did not announce the poll schedule for the Gujarat Assembly, prompting the Congress to allege that it was to facilitate Prime Minister Narendra Modi more time to make “mega promises and inaugurations”.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar justified the decision saying the poll body followed past convention in keeping the announcement for the Gujarat Assembly poll schedule in abeyance. Kumar also cited the weather of Himachal Pradesh as a reason behind announcing the elections for the hill State first.
“There are a number of factors, such as weather. We want to hold the Himachal elections before the onset of snow, especially in the upper reaches where snowing takes place... There is a gap of 40 days between the ends of the Assemblies of the two States. According to the rules, it should be at least 30 days so that one result doesn’t impact the other,” Kumar added.
Both Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat were set to go to polls together as well in 2017. The Assembly polls were held together in both the States since 1998 barring 2002-2003 after the Godhra riots, when the Gujarat Assembly was dissolved prematurely.
The CEC said that the announcement of multiple State polls together leads to longer wait time for declaration of results for some. The convention holds that the EC normally holds elections together in States where the incumbent governments are completing their five-year term within six months. The term of the Gujarat Assembly ends on February 18, 2023, while the term of the Himachal Assembly will end on January 8, 2023. In 2017, the polls in the two States were announced on different dates but the counting took place together on December 18.
Some Opposition leaders pointed out that announcing Gujarat election later could allow the incumbent Government to roll out more welfare schemes before the model code of conduct kicks in. The Congress, the leading Opposition party in Gujarat, alleged that the BJP had pushed the EC to delay the announcement.
“Obviously this has been done to give more time to the PM to make some mega promises & carry out more inaugurations. Not at all surprising,” AICC General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said. The Congress, BJP and AAP also welcomed the assembly elections announcement by the poll body.
Announcing the poll dates for assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh, Kumar said more than 55 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise for 68 assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh on November 12. There are 1.86 lakh first-time voters, 1.22 lakh aged 80-plus and 1,184 voters who are above 100 years of age.
“The elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure maximum participation of voters in the “festival of democracy,” Kumar said. There are over 55 lakh electors across the hill state, of which 67,000 are service voters, 56,000 are persons with disabilities and 1,184 voters are 100+.
As a consequence of the commission allowing 17+ voters to apply in advance for a voter ID card, Himachal Pradesh will also have 43,173 new voters. According to the poll schedule for Himachal Pradesh on Friday, the notification for the election will be issued on October 17 and the last date for filing of nominations will be October 25. The scrutiny of nominations will be held on October 27 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations will be October 29.
The state has 68 assembly constituencies, with 17 reserved for schedule castes, and three for scheduled tribes.
The Jairam Thakur-led BJP government in Shimla is seeking to return to power riding on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has already held several rallies and announced projects worth over Rs 6,000 crore in the last two weeks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited Himachal Pradesh almost every month.
The BJP is focusing on Kangra region which elects about a quarter of the state’s assembly. Kangra has always shown a trend of voting against the incumbent regime, raising concerns for the saffron party. The party that wins the maximum number of seats in Kangra normally forms the government in the state.
The Congress will go into the Himachal Pradesh assembly polls without declaring a chief ministerial candidate. With veteran leader Virbhadra Singh’s demise, the party is staring at a leadership vacuum in the poll-bound state. However, Congress leaders say that his absence will not weaken the chances of a victory. Four rallies of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have been finalised by the Congress as of now.