Gujarat
will go to polls in two phases, the Election Commission announced on Thursday,
November 3. The first phase polls will be held on December 1 and the second phase on December 5. Results will be
announced on December 8 along with the Himachal Pradesh elections. This is the
same format in which elections were organised in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh
in 2017.

Gujarat
elects a 182-member legislative assembly. Seventeen constituencies in Gujarat
are reserved for scheduled castes and 23 constituencies are reserved for
scheduled tribes.

The final electoral role was published on October 10, 2022. 

The
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been in power in Gujarat for 25 years. Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to
2014.

The 2017
Assembly elections saw the Congress make significant inroads in Gujarat, even
though the grand old party seemed to slip in its erstwhile strongholds.

The 2017
Gujarat Assembly elections saw BJP win 99 seats with a 49.05% vote share while
the Congress won 77 seats with a 41.44% vote share. Others combined managed 6
seats. However, over the years, BJP’s seat share went up to 111 while the Congress’ seat share went down to 62. 

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The Election Commission while making the announcement offered its condolences to those who died in the Morbi bridge tragedy. The commission further said that candidates who have criminal antecedents will require to publish in newspapers and on social media their criminal record. 

The Election Commission said that it will maintain that government machinery is completely impartial and has promised to take strict action against any violation. 

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District officials have been asked to set up social media teams to keep a tab on accounts that seek to disturb the peace. 

The 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections will see a three-sided contest. While the traditionally strong parties, BJP and Congress, will look to keep their hold in the state, the AAP has emerged as a disruptive force. Arvind Kejriwal’s party will seek to keep the momentum it earned with the Punjab Assembly polls going before the 2024 Union elections.