Himachal Pradesh assembly election on November 12, counting on December 8

The assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh will be held on November 12 and the results will be declared on December 8, the Election Commission (EC) announced on Friday. The commission, however, did not announce the elections for the Gujarat assembly, the term of which ends on February 18, 2023.

The panel said it was following past precedence in keeping the announcing in abeyance the schedule for the Gujarat assembly. The poll body convened a press conference at 3 pm. The term of the Himachal Pradesh assembly will end on January 8, 2023.

Last month, the chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar and election commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey had visited Himachal Pradesh to review poll preparedness.

Himachal Pradesh voted to elect its legislative assembly on November 9, 2017. In the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, the BJP defeated the Congress and won 44 seats, while the Congress secured only 21 seats in 2017.

In percentage terms, the BJP won 48.79 per cent of the total valid votes, followed by the Congress (41.68 per cent) and Independents (6.34 per cent).

Currently, in the assembly, the Jairam Thakur-led BJP regime has 45 MLAs, while the Congress has 22 and CPI(M) has one. The AAP is looking to set foot in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

More than 55 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise for 68 assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh, Kumar said at the press briefing.

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.

(With inputs from agencies)