Dates for the Gujarat Assembly election were finally announced on Wednesday, with Chief Election Commissioner AK Joti declaring a two-phase poll, to be held on December 9 and 14. Counting for all the 182 assembly seats will take place on December 18.

A political slugfest ensued immediately after the announcement with the Congress alleging that it had been “delayed to please the BJP” and the ruling BJP attributing such allegations to the Opposition being a “disgruntled and losing party”.

The announcement comes almost two weeks after the Election Commission declared dates for Himachal Pradesh, on October 12. The Congress said the election dates for the two States were not declared simultaneously to give the BJP’s prospects in Gujarat a boost through State-specific sops announced by the Centre.

“The EC should have announced the poll along with the Himachal Pradesh elections. We hope that now the panel will ensure free and fair elections. The BJP is scared of a defeat. We are confident as we get support from all walks of life,” said Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president Bharat Sinh Solanki.

The BJP hit back with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley maintaining that the Congress was attacking the EC because it is the “losing and disgruntled” party in Gujarat. “Just a couple of weeks ago, when the Rajya Sabha elections were held, the Congress was singing the praises of the same EC. The EC is duty-bound to act as per law,” he said. Jaitley said the missing point in the debate about election dates for Gujarat is the duration of the Model Code of Conduct and how long it should be stretched.

“If, in two States, elections are being held at a gap of 4-5 weeks, isn’t it fair that the duration of the code of conduct in both States is similar? To have a 35-day code of conduct in a Congress-ruled State and a 70-day conduct in a BJP-ruled State just because the Congress feels that would be proper ... the EC is not bound by it,” said Jaitley.

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