New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS): Pavan K. Varma, national General Secretary of the JD-U - which is a member of the ruling National Democratic Alliance, on Monday questioned the Election Commission's decision not to announce the election dates for Gujarat, saying that "credible answers were needed".

"EC must not only be impartial but seen to be so. Why have the dates for Gujarat elections not been announced? We need credible answers," said Varma on Twitter.

Varma, also national spokesperson of the Janata Dal-United, hit out at the central government over India's falling ranking in the Global Hunger Index. "India's steep fall in the Global Hunger Index from 55 in 2014 to 100 in 2017 begs the question who is the 'fastest growing' economy working for?," he asked.

The Election Commission has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition for announcing the dates for Himachal Pradesh, which goes to polls on November 9, without giving the schedule for Gujarat.