The Election Commission has announced the schedule for the Gujarat Assembly polls on November 3. The poll panel convened a press conference to announce the schedule.
The election in the State will take place in two phases. While the first phase is scheduled for December 1, voting for the second phase will take place on December 5, the Election Commission of India announced. Counting of votes will take place on December 8, 2022, the ECI added.
Gujarat polls to take place in two phases. Full schedule:
Phase 1:
Number of seats: 89
Issue of notification: November 5, 2022
Last Date of filing nominations: November 14, 2022
Scrutiny of nominations: November 15, 2022
Last date for withdrawal of candidatures: November 17, 2022
Date of poll: December 01, 2022
Counting of votes: December 8, 2022
Phase 2:
Number of seats: 93
Issue of notification: November 10, 2022
Last Date of filing nominations: November 17, 2022
Scrutiny of nominations: November 18, 2022
Last date for withdrawal of candidatures: November 21, 2022
Date of poll: December 05, 2022
Counting of votes: December 8, 2022
Photo: Twitter/@ECISVEEP
Parties must explain why they chose candidate with criminal background, says CEC
“Parties must explain why they chose candidate with criminal background,” says Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.
He also says that via the ;Know Your Candidate’ App, voters will be informed about all the details, including criminal history and funds, of all the candidates.
Use cVIGIL app to raise any issue: CEC
The CEC says that if voters witness any untoward activities, like use of muscle power or money power, they can use the cVIGIL application to raise a complaint from the booth itself.
We’re focussing on inclusion of third-gender voters: CEC Rajiv Kumar
Since 2017, there has been a 100% increase in transgender voters in Gujarat. There are 1,417 third-gender voters in the State, Mr. Kumar adds. We’re also trying to have a reach in certain red-light areas, he says.
CEC says shipping container to work as polling station
The CEC says there will be a polling station for one voter. 15 member team will go there to get his vote, he adds. We want to ensure everyone is able to exercise their franchise, CEC Rajiv Kumar says.
51,792 polling stations for Gujarat elections: CEC Rajiv Kumar
All basic facilities will be provided at all the polling stations, CEC Rajiv Kumar said, adding, “no polling station will be on the second floor”. In 1,274 polling stations, only women representatives, women police will greet the voters, the CEC said. PwDs to greet voters at 182 polling stations, he said.
The total number of electors on the voter rolls stand at 4,91,17,308 which include 4,90,89,765 general electors and 27,943 service voters. 3,24,420 new voters have been added to the rolls after having attained the age of 18 between January 1 and October, the CEC informed.
CEC Rajiv Kumar begins briefing the press by expressing grief for Morbi incident
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar says that more than 4.9 crore electors will be served by the Election Commission of India in the State of Gujarat. There are 4.6 lakhs first time voters, he informs. 3,34,420 new voters will be able to cast their votes, he says.
Gujarat Assembly: 2017 results and Current Composition:
Why was the schedule not announced earlier?
Citing the convention followed in 2017, the poll panel had not announced the Gujarat election schedule when it came out with Himachal Pradesh poll dates last month.
While elections in Himachal Pradesh will be held in a single phase on November 12, the counting of votes will take place on December 8.
By keeping the counting date for Himachal Pradesh nearly a month after the polling, the commission had given a clear hint that votes for Gujarat would also be counted on December 8.
In 2017, the polls in the two States were announced on different dates but the counting took place together on December 18.
Does ‘double engine government’ matter for Gujarat voters?
In Gujarat, the support for the double-engine government has increased from 16% in 2017 to 27% in 2022, and in contrast, opposition to it has plummeted substantially. Even those who are fully dissatisfied with the central government (17%) still choose to support the idea of a double-engine government.
The findings across States in earlier surveys indicated an interesting pattern: wherever the BJP was the incumbent government, it found substantial support for a double-engine government. Voters in Gujarat (27%), Assam (41%), Goa (34%), Uttar Pradesh (31%) and Uttarakhand (33%) show a substantial inclination towards ‘double engine’, whereas in States such as Kerala (54%), Tamil Nadu (40%) and West Bengal (33%), where the ruling dispensation is different, the citizens mostly disagree.
A State election with national leaders as the face of their parties
In the recent past, the leadership factor has been a key role in determining the success of parties at both central and state level. How critical could the leadership factor be in Gujarat? Given the fact that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) went in for a major overhaul in the State of not merely replacing the Chief Minister but much of the Council of Ministers was by itself indicative of how important the party saw the role of its national leadership and party organisation. The rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Gujarat is also seen to revolve around its national leadership.
The Lokniti-CSDS poll indicates some interesting trends on people’s preference for the Chief Minister of the State. In an open-ended question on who they would prefer as the Chief Minister of the State after the next election (there was no prompt for names), there was no clear winner with a sizeable lead or majority. The incumbent Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had the support of a little over one-sixth of the respondents. One in every ten favoured his predecessor, Vijay Rupani.
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