Election Commission of India on Thursday said that there were “multiple factors” leading to the delay in the announcement of the Gujarat Assembly polls. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that “Not just Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, but recent Morbi bridge collapse and other multiple factors delayed the polling dates of Gujarat Assembly elections 2022”.
CEC Rajiv Kumar said that, Countering the allegations of “unfairness” by the Congress because of the delay in Gujarat Assembly elections 2022, Recently a very tragic incident occurred in Gujarat, the Morbi Bridge collapse, one of the reasons why we delayed. Also, there was state mourning in the state yesterday.” Adding further, “there has actually been no delay in the Gujarat election announcement” as there are still 110 days left for the term of the state assembly.
Meanwhile, the voting for Gujarat Assembly Election will take place in two phases: December 1 and December 5. In Gujarat, there are more than 4.9 crore eligible voters, including 4.6 lakh first-time voters. The EC will set up 51,782 polling places for voters, 34,276 of which will be in rural areas and 17,506 in urban ones. With the announcement of the election schedule, the Model Code of Conduct comes into effect in the state. The Centre has deployed 160 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces ahead of the polls.
Mallikarjun Kharge, newly elected non-Gandhi Congress President on Tuesday (1 November) said that Gujarat Assembly polls 2022 were delayed so that he can inaugurate “more bridges like the one that fell in Morbi”.
The BJP has been in power in Gujarat state for over two decades. In the 2017 election the BJP won 99 seats, Congress won 77, winning 49.05 per cent and 42.97 per cent of the votes, respectively. Over the years, the Congress’ tally reduced to 62, while the BJP’s increased to 111.
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