Assembly elections in Gujarat will be held in two phases on 1 December and 5 December and the result will be declared on 8 December along with the outcome of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced today.

The Assembly polls in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat are expected to witness a triangular contest among the ruling BJP, Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Announcing the election schedule for Gujarat at a press conference here, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said the term of the 182-member Gujarat Assembly ends on February 18 next year.

On allegations of delay in announcing the polling dates for Gujarat, the CEC said there is no delay in the state poll announcement as there are still 110 days left for the term of the state assembly. Multiple factors, including weather, were taken into account before finalising the poll dates, the CEC said.

He said the poll panel has announced the poll dates 110 days ahead of the expiry of the Gujarat assembly. “There will be a 72 days gap between the counting of the result and the expiry of the Assembly in the state,” the CEC said.

On charges of EVM tampering, he said,  “Actions and outcomes speak louder than words. At times, parties critical of the poll panel have got surprise results in polls. Some have questioned EVMs, but they are silent when they win polls through the same EVMs.”

He said, “The first phase of Assembly polls in Gujarat will be held on December 1 and second phase on December 5 and counting of votes will be held on December 8.”

In the first phase, polling will be held for 89 seats while the second phase will be held for 93 seats.

The CEC said notification for the first phase of polls will be issued on November 5 while notification for the second phase will be issued on November 10.

Gujarat has 4,90,89,765 electorate, which includes 2,53,36,610 males and 2,37,51,738 females.

The CEC said as many as 3,24,422 people would be first-time voters in the Gujarat Assembly polls.

“The total number of polling stations is 51,782. At least 50 per cent of the polling stations set up in Gujarat will have webcasting arrangements,” the CEC said.

“For a better voting experience, 1274 polling stations will be managed entirely by women and security staff. The Public Works Department will welcome voters at 182 polling stations. For the first time, 33 polling stations will be set up and managed by the youngest polling staff,” he said.

“The date of counting for Gujarat Assembly polls will coincide with Himachal Pradesh on the 8 December. The entire process of Assembly elections is to be completed on the 10 December,” he said.

On allegations of delaying polling dates due to the PM’s visit to Gujarat, the CEC said, “Recently a very tragic incident occurred there ( Morbi Bridge Collapse)- one of the reasons why we delayed. Also, there was state mourning in the state yesterday; so multiple factors.”

After the announcement of the poll dates, the Model Code of Conduct has come into effect in Gujarat.

Earlier, on October 14, the EC had announced the dates for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls.

Election in the hill state will be held in a single phase on November 12 and the counting of votes will be taken up on December 8.