The Election Commission of India announced dates for Himachal Pradesh assembly elections. The Himachal Pradesh elections will be held on November 12.  Results will be announced on December 8. 

India’s Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey announced the dates for the elections from New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan on October 14.

 Himachal Pradesh will elect 68 legislators to its assembly. 

The gazette notification for the elections will be released on October 17 and the last date of filing nominations is October 25. Those who wish to withdraw their nominations will be able to do so latest by October 29 and the entire election process will conclude on December 10.

The last assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh were held on November 9, 2017. A party needs 35 seats to form the government in the hill state. In 2017, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 44 seats, thereby forming the government. The Indian National Congress (INC) won 21 seats. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) won one seat while others won two. 

This year, the Aam Aadmi Party seeks to be a disrupt the regular goings-on of Himachal Pradesh’s polity. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party, now with governments in Punjab and Delhi, has already announced its manifesto for the upcoming polls. 

The Aam Aadmi Party has pledged to create 6 lakh government jobs if it is voted into power and an unemployment allowance of Rs 3,000 for those without jobs. Further, it has also promised a return to the old pension scheme. 

The Congress, on the other hand, has promised 5 lakh jobs in the state. The grand old party has pledged to improve healthcare in the hill state by organising mobile clinics and upgrading the existing health infrastructure. 

The BJP, the ruling party, said that it is currently taking suggestions from the electorate for its manifesto. The Narendra Modi-led party said it will consult 50,000 people before releasing its manifesto.