The Election Commission announced the dates of the Gujarat Assembly elections on Thursday, November 3. The elections for Gujarat’s 182-member Assembly will be in two phases. 

Here are the key dates for the Gujarat Assembly elections: 

Date of Issue of Gazette notification for first phase: November 5, 2022

Date of Issue of Gazette notification for second phase: November 10, 2022

Last date of nominations for phase 1: November 14, 2022 

Last date of nominations for phase 2: November 17, 2022 

Last date for withdrawal of nominations for phase 1: November 18, 2022

Last date for withdrawal of nominations for phase 2: November 21, 2022

Phase 1 polls: December 1, 2022 

Phase 2 polls: December 5, 2022 

Results: December 8, 2022 

Date before which election shall be completed: December 10, 2022

Of the 182 Assembly constituencies, 89 will go to polls in the first phase and 93 in the second phase. More than 51,000 polling stations will be set up for 4.9 crore eligible electors. Nearly 34,000 of these polling stations will be in rural areas. 

Also Read | Gujarat elections: Polls on Dec 1 and 5, results on Dec 8

The announcement of the poll schedule also sets the Model Code of Conduct into effect. The Centre has deployed 160 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) ahead of the polls. 

Traditionally, the contest in Gujarat is between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP has prevailed every single time over the last five years. Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014. 

This year, there is a new entrant in the contest — the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).  AAP will be trying to keep its momentum on from the Punjab polls. 

The 2017 Gujarat Assembly elections saw the Congress make inroads in the state. The grand old party won 77 seats coming in a close second against the BJP which won 99 seats.