Dates out for Gujarat election; polling in 2 phases on Dec 1 & 5 , results on Dec 8

NT Correspondent

New Delhi: The long wait is finally over. The Assembly election in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be held in two phases in December with a pitched battle on the cards between the ruling BJP, opposition Congress and the Aam Admi Party(AA) which is making a determined effort to set up base in the state.

For the BJP, this is a battle of prestige for reverses in the poll will come in handy for the opposition parties to target the party and PM Modi in particular. The first phase of the polls will be on December 1 and the second phase on December 5, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Thursday.

The counting of votes and subsequent declaration of polls results has been scheduled for December 8. In the 2017 Gujarat Assembly Elections, of the 182 seats, the BJP had won 99 seats while the Congress h a d got 77. When elections were held in Gujarat in 2002 under the leadership of Narendra Modi, the BJP had won 127 seats.

The saffronists have been in power in Gujarat for several consecutive terms since 1995. If the party wins again, it will have been in power for more than 27 years. The rotation of CMs in the state by the BJP with Vijay Rupani replacing Anandiben Patel and Bhupendra Patel taking the place of Rupani two years a go, proves that the party is yet to solve the leadership vacuum after Modi exited the state to take up the post of PM in 2014