Himachal Pradesh Polls on November 12, Counting on December 8: EC

In the 2017 Himachal Pradesh assembly election, the BJP won 44 seats of the total 68. The Congress secured only 21 seats.

New Delhi: The Himachal Pradesh assembly elections will be held in a single phase on November 12, the Election Commission announced on Friday, October 14.

The counting of the votes will be done on December 8, the EC said.

However, the poll dates for Gujarat were not announced.

The poll body convened a press conference at 3 pm at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

The term of the Himachal Pradesh assembly ends on January 8, 2023.

In the 2017 Himachal Pradesh assembly election, the BJP won 44 seats of the total 68, with a vote share of 48.8%, touted as the party’s best-ever performance in the state since it first contested in 1982.

However, it lost five seats by a narrow margin in Kinnaur, Chamba, Hamirpur, Solan and Kangra.

The Congress secured only 21 seats.

The Commission was also expected to announce the poll dates for Gujarat on Friday.

The term of the Gujarat assembly ends on February 18 next year.

In the 182-seated Gujarat assembly, there are 111 Bharatiya Janata Party and 62 Congress MLAs at present.

The model code of conduct will be enforced from the date of the announcement of the election schedule by the Commission and will be operational till the poll process is completed.