New Delhi: The Gujarat assembly elections will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5 and the votes will be counted on December 8, Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar said in a press conference today.
Before announcing the election date, Rajeev Kumar expressed his condolences to the victims of the Morbi poll collapse.
He informed that 51,782 polling stations will be constructed for 182 assembly seats of Gujarat state. Out of them, 1,274 polling stations will be fully manned by women polling and women security staff.
Similarly, the election commissioner also said that ‘home voting’ will be facilitated for voters above 80 years of age.
He informed that polling station will be arranged for Siddhis in Gir Somnath district. He said, polling station will be established for Siddhis in Madhupur Jambur of Gir Somnath district. The Siddis are an East African tribe who came to India between the 14th and 17th centuries. They are also our glorified voters.
The Election Commission has laid special emphasis on the participation of third gender voters in the entire voting process. The Election Commissioner said, district-wise special camps have been organized to facilitate the enrollment. In Gujarat, the number of registered third gender voters has doubled in 2022 as compared to 2017.
Online submission of nomination papers and affidavits has been made available to candidates and political parties on the ‘ECI Facilitation Portal’. The Election Commission of India has informed that applications can be made online through this portal for rallies, public meetings etc.