Election Commission is likely to announce polling dates for Gujarat Assembly Elections, according to report. A political slugfest has already erupted over the alleged delay over the announcement of dates. Congress has launched a scathing attack on BJP while ruling party has defended the decision citing past instances. (IE image)
Election Commission is likely to announce polling dates for Gujarat Assembly Elections, according to report. A political slugfest has already erupted over the alleged delay over the announcement of dates. Congress has launched a scathing attack on BJP while ruling party has defended the decision citing past instances. A few days ago EC had announced dates for Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections but chose not to declare the schedule for Gujarat. Now officials have said that the EC may announce the schedule for a two-phase poll in the state on Wednesday, according to report. The term of the 182-member Gujarat assembly gets over on January 23 next year.
Chief Election Commissioner A K Joti had defended the decision of announcing Himachal Pradesh’s poll schedule before that of Gujarat, saying that multiple factors including the weather, flood relief work and festivities were considered before taking a call on election dates. The CEC had said while the Gujarat and Himachal polls were announced together in 2012, their schedules were different. He also said the two states had no similarities in geography or weather patterns.
The Commission has received fierce criticism from opposition parties for not having announced the dates for Gujarat Assembly elections along with Himachal Pradesh. The opposition has been alleging that by “delaying” the announcement of the Gujarat polls, the EC was giving time to the BJP government in the state and at the Centre to sidestep the provisions of the model code and offer sops to the electorate to swing votes in favour of the saffron party. After the EC did not announce the election schedule for Gujarat, the Congress had alleged it was done to enable Prime Minister Narendra Modi to play a “false Santa Claus” and announce freebies for voters before the model code of conduct kicked in.
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Meanwhile ahead of the Assembly polls, the Gujarat government yesterday announced a slew of sops for various sections of the society, including farmers and the agitating accredited health workers. The BJP government effected a hike of 50 per cent in the incentive paid to Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), village-level women who are a key component in the implementation of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). Making the announcements, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said the hike would benefit around 40,000 women who work as health activists across the state, which goes to the polls by the year-end.
