Himachal Pradesh assembly elections: Check full poll schedule

New Delhi, Oct 14: The Election Commission of India on Friday (October 14) announced the schedule for assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh. The voting for all 68 seats will take place on November 12 in a single phase. Results of the assembly polls will be declared on December 8.

The announcement was made by the poll body at a press conference in New Delhi. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said that some polling stations will be managed entirely by Person with Disability (PWD) staff. He added, "Lowest polling booths in each constituency will be identified to encourage voter participation." "Commission staff will go to houses for voters aged above 80 years for polling, process to be videographed," he noted.

Over 55 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise for 68 assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh, Kumar said. There are 1.86 lakh first-time voters, 1.22 lakh aged 80-plus and 1,184 voters who are above 100 years of age.

Himachal Pradesh has a 68-member assembly and the BJP had won a clear majority by winning 44 seats in the 2017 elections. The Congress managed to win 21 seats, Independents bagged two seats and the CPI(M) emerged victorious on one seat.

In percentage terms, the BJP won 48.79 per cent of the total valid votes, followed by the Congress (41.68 per cent) and Independents (6.34 per cent).

The term of the Himachal House ends on January 8, 2023. The BJP has 45 MLAs in the House, while Congress has 20 in Himachal Pradesh. In the bypolls held in the state on October 30 last year, the BJP had lost the Mandi parliamentary seat and three Assembly seats of Fatehpur, Arki, and Jubbai-Kothkai to the Congress.

Here's a look at the key dates for assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh