Election Body Rejects BJP's Request To Take Nominations On Public Holiday

The Election Commission has rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s request to accept nominations on the public holiday on November 12 under the Negotiable Instruments Act, a senior official said on Monday.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Gujarat, P Bharathi, told PTI that Gujarat BJP had requested that nomination forms be accepted on November 12, the second Saturday of the month and a public holiday, for the next month's Assembly polls to be held in two phases on December 1 and 5.

"We had written to the Election Commission (regarding the BJP's request). The Commission has said no to this request because it is a public holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act" she said.

The last date to file nomination papers for the first phase is November 14.

Gujarat will vote in two phases on December 1 and December 5, and the counting of votes will be taken up on December 8 along with that of Himachal Pradesh.

Of the total 182 assembly seats in Gujarat, 89 seats will vote on in the first phase and the rest 93 seats on December 5.

The process to file nominations for the first phase began on Monday.

The notification for the second phase will be issued on November 10 and the last date for nominations will be November 17.

The last dates for the withdrawal of nominations for the first and second phases are November 17 and 21, respectively.

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