New Delhi: Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh will be held on November 12 and counting of votes will take place on December 8, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced on Friday.
He said the dates for the Gujarat elections would be announced later.
“There is still time for the term of the Gujarat Assembly to end. There are many other factors. Weather is also an important factor for Himachal Pradesh, so the dates will have to be announced early. All factors will be assessed by the commission, after which the dates for Gujarat elections will also be announced,” Kumar said at a press conference in Delhi.
Both the states are currently ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Himachal: Prestige, Revival and Expansion
Himachal Pradesh is the home state of BJP National President JP Nadda and Union Minister Anurag Thakur. The party is facing a battle for prestige more than anything else in the hill state.
In every assembly election in Himachal since 1985, the state has been elected alternative governments In power – between Congress and BJP. According to Election Commission records, the last time a party won the state for two consecutive terms was the Congress which did so in the 1982 and 1985 assembly elections.
This year, Himachal Pradesh will fight a three-cornered battle with the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is throwing its hat in the ring for all 68 seats in the state.
In the 2017 assembly election, the BJP had won 44 seats in Himachal Pradesh and secured a vote share of 48.8 percent. The Congress had won 21 seats and the vote share was 41.7 per cent.
While the BJP faces a somewhat anti-incumbency wave in some areas of the state, the Congress sees this as an opportunity to revive itself, especially at a time when the party governs only two states – Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Is.
AAP has adopted its governance model in Delhi which revolves around better schools, better healthcare, water and electricity subsidies, jobs and welfare measures. It is currently recognized as a state party in Delhi, Punjab and Goa. In the second one being recognized as a state party would qualify you as a national party.
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Gujarat: High stakes battle
Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, is considered a BJP stronghold. The party has ruled the state for almost three decades. For the BJP, it is more than a fight for prestige to retain the throne.
The elections in this state are also very important for the Congress, which is trying to revive itself with Rahul Gandhi india couple traveland AAP, which won the Punjab election earlier this year and is looking to expand its footprint across India ahead of the 2024 general elections.
Gujarat has 182 assembly seats, out of which the BJP won 99 in the last election held in 2017 and 115 in 2012. The Congress had won 77 seats in 2017, while it had won 61 seats in 2012. In the 2017 Gujarat elections, the BJP had a tough fight in terms of vote share with 49 per cent and the Congress getting 41 per cent of the total votes.
AAP had contested 30 seats in Gujarat in 2017 and was unsuccessful. Since then, the party has been working on building an organizational base in the state. The AAP seems to have invested a major chunk of its resources in the Gujarat elections this year, with two of Kejriwal’s closest aides – Rajya Sabha MPs Sandeep Pathak and Raghav Chadha – acting as observers.
(Edited by Anumeha Saxena)
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