The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday declared the schedule for a two-phase poll in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state. The polls will be held on December 9 and 14 and the results will be announced on December 18.
The dates for polls in Gujarat declared almost 13 days after voting date for Himachal Pradesh was announced earlier this month.
The current term of the 182-member Gujarat Assembly will get over on January 23 next year. The Commission has been under attack for not having declared the dates for Gujarat polls together with Himachal Pradesh.
The first phase of the Gujarat election will cover 89 constituencies in 19 districts while the second phase will cover 93 constituencies spread across 14 districts.
Wednesday’s announcement came after the poll panel faced criticism over the delay in announcing the election schedule in the BJP-ruled state.
It had been expected to announce the Gujarat dates on October 12 when it declared the polling schedule for Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh.
Opposition parties alleged that the delay had given the state and central governments more time to announce sops for Gujarat.
