The schedules for the Assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will be declared in "due time," Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath said on Friday.
The "elections will be announced in due time," he told reporters here on the sidelines of a seminar on 'Inclusive Voting and Electoral Participation'.
According to the EC sources, the dates for the polls in the two states are likely to be announced within a fortnight. "All relevant factors, including festivals, seasonal conditions, natural conditions like snow-bound areas - all these will be kept in view when we take a decision," Sampath said. He said, "We expect that voter participation would be much higher than anytime in the past" in the two states. The sources said that Assembly polls in Gujarat are likely to be held in two phases between the second half of November and early December.
The elections in Himachal Pradesh are likely to be held in a single phase this time by early December. Polls in the hill state the last time were held in two phases. "The Commission may continue with the tradition of a two- phased polling in Gujarat. The announcement for polls will be made within next fortnight," the sources said.
