New Delhi, Nov 3 (IANS): The Election Commission (EC) is to announce the poll schedule for the Gujarat Assembly on Thursday afternoon.

The poll panel will hold a press conference at 12 p.m. to announce the schedule of the elections. The Model Code of Conduct will come into force in the state after the official notification for the election is published.

Polling in Gujarat is likely to be held in two phases in the first week of December.

The term of the 182-member Gujarat legislative Assembly will end on February 18, 2023.

Earlier, the Commission had not announced the Gujarat poll schedule when it came out with the Himachal Pradesh election dates. On October 14, the Commission had announced the election schedule for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, which will take place on November 12 in a single-phase followed by the counting of votes on December 8.

At that time, the poll panel had not announced the dates for Gujarat elections. The poll panel had said that the announcement of multiple state polls together leads to longer wait-time for the declaration of results for some.

The BJP had emerged victorious in the 2017 Assembly elections in Gujarat.