The Election Commission on November 3 stated that the Gujarat Assembly elections would take place in two rounds on December 1 and 5, with results being released on December 8. In the first round, 89 of the 182 seats in the Legislative Assembly will be up for election; in the second, 93. This year, more than 4.9 crore voters are eligible to cast ballots. More than 51,000 voting places will be put up, more than 34,000 in rural regions.
Total Seats: 182 Seats
Contesting Parties: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), and Congress
Timeline of the Elections:
| Events | Dates |
| Date of issue of gazette notification | November 5 (Phase 1), November 10 (Phase 2) |
| Last date for nominations | November 14 (Phase 1), November 17 (Phase 2) |
| Date for scrutiny of nominations | November 15 (Phase 1); November 18 (Phase 2) |
| Last date for withdrawal of Nominations | November 15 (Phase 1), November 18 (Phase 2) |
| Date of Elections | December 1 (Phase 1), December 5 (Phase 2) |
| Results | December 8 |
The Gujarat Assembly’s current term expires on February 18, 2023. The Model Code of Conduct is implemented in the state with the publication of the election calendar. Before the elections, the Center mobilized 160 Central Armed Police Forces battalions.
Before releasing the timeline, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar sent his sympathies to the Morbi bridge tragedy’s deceased families. He said that the tragedy which left at least 140 people dead caused a delay in the announcement of the polling timetable.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress, and the Aam Aadmi Party are engaged in a three-cornered struggle in the eagerly anticipated, high-stakes elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state has been ruled by the BJP for more than 20 years. The BJP won 99 seats in the most recent election, whereas the Congress took home 77, garnering 49.05% of the vote to the BJP’s 42.97%. The BJP’s number climbed to 111 over time, while the Congress’s number decreased to 62.
This time AAP is giving a tight competition to BJP in Assembly Elections in Gujarat. The Aam Aadmi Party is trying to turn the Gujarat election between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress into a triangular struggle. It is betting on incumbency against the state’s dominant BJP and a depleted Congress to carve out a niche for itself.
Moreover, according to NDTV reports, Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of the AAP, quickly predicted that his party would “certainly win” the election shortly after the Election Commission revealed the Gujarat election timeline, which called for voting on December 1 and results on December 8. The party then claimed significant numbers. The chief minister of Delhi, whose party is optimistic after taking Punjab earlier this year, claimed that the people of Gujarat are prepared for a significant shift this time. Gujarat has been a BJP bastion for more than 20 years.
According to NDTV, Arvind Kejriwal made big claims. He said, “We are winning 90-95 seats (of the 182) now. And if this pace continues, we will win 140 to 150 seats,” AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj told NDTV after the date declaration. The party is fielding candidates for all 182 constituencies this time, confident of a turnaround from 2017, when it contested around 30 seats but made no impact. “This time the people of Gujarat will vote for change,” Bharadwaj echoed his party boss, “People are tired of BJP rule.”
