The Election Commission announced that a two-phase assembly elections will take place in Gujarat on December 1 and 5, setting the stage for a three-cornered contest in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state. Rajiv Kumar, the chief election commissioner, declared the Gujarat election timetable 19 days after announcing polls in Himachal Pradesh. He added that counting of votes will take place in both the states on December 8.
Over 49 million electors, including 460,000 first-time voters aged 18-19; 10,460 centenarians and 1,417 third gender voters (who have doubled since 2017), are eligible to elect their representatives from Gujarat’s 182 assembly seats, of which 89 will go to polls on December 1 and the remaining 93 on December 5.
Gujarat to see 3-way fight
Voters will decide in the first week of December whether to continue their 27-year association with the BJP. They can choose between Congress, which has maintained a respectable 40% of the vote share despite being out of power for 30 years, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
PM Modi is leading from the front, invoking the “double engine” of BJP governments in the state and at the Centre to promise rapid infrastructure development and improvement in health and education. In 2017, Congress put up its best show since the defeat of 1990. It had a vote share of more than 41%, and 77 seats, although BJP’s aggressive poaching reduced its assembly strength to 62 eventually. However, the Congress camp has been quiet this time.
AAP chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s offer of freebies has started to gain traction. He has targeted BJP over the “poor state of education in Gujarat vis-à-vis the national capital”, and major drug hauls from Gujarat ports.
State is expected to spend £45 mn
A sum of £45 million is expected to be spent from the state exchequer to conduct a “free and fair” assembly election in Gujarat. The expenditure will be monitored by the office of the chief electoral officer (CEO), Gujarat, under the guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
AAP names Isudan Gadhvi as CM candidate
The AAP erupted after ex-journalist Isudan Gadhvi was announced as its chief ministerial candidate. Within hours, cracks in the Arvind Kejriwal-led party emerged. Within hours, cracks appeared in the party with its national joint secretary Indranil Rajyaguru the party to return to the Congress fold. A former MLA from the Rajkot East seat, who had taken on BJP ex-CM Vijay Rupani in 2017, Rajyaguru had quit the Congress in April this year and subsequently joined AAP. Rajyaguru’s exit is a major setback for AAP in the state as he is one of the richest MLAs and had declared assets worth £14 million in the 2017 state polls.
Congress declares list of 43 candidates
The Congress announced its first list of 43 candidates. From Ahmedabad, sitting Congress Rajya Sabha MP Amee Yagnik has been named candidate from the Ghatlodia seat, which is currently held by the Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. The first list has 10 Patel or Patidar faces, 11 tribals, 10 OBCs and five Scs.
Ruling BJP has not declared its candidates yet, AAP has declared its candidates for 118 seats.
