Hindu refugees from Pakistan to vote for 1st time in Gujarat assembly polls

Over 1032 Hindu refugees from Pakistan who have been granted Indian Citizenship will be voting for the first time in the Gujarat election 2022.

Notably, these refugees have been granted citizenship over the past 5 years by the BJP-led Central government.

As per reports, the Ahmedabad Collector's Office has provided Indian citizenship to 1032 Hindus from Pakistan since 2016.

Further citizenship to the people from the Hindu, Sikh, Christian, and Parsi communities has been granted only after the Centre and State Intelligence acceptance.

Earlier in August 2022, the State Home Minister of Gujarat Harsh Sanghavi had issued certificates of Indian citizenship to 40 Hindu refugees from Pakistan. 

The Election Commission on November 3 announced the date for the Gujarat assembly elections. The voting for the same will take place on December 1 and 5 while the counting of votes will take place on December 8.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, while addressing a press conference said, “In Gujarat, more than 4.9 crore electors will be served by the Election Commission of India. There are 4.6 lakhs first-time voters”.

There will be over 51,000 polling stations in Gujarat for the upcoming elections. “For enhanced voting experience, 1,274 polling stations will be completely managed by women polling and security staff,” said the election commissioner.

On February 18 next year, the 182-member Gujarat Assembly's term will come to an end.

Phases 1 and 2's deadlines for notification are November 5 and November 10, respectively.

The deadlines for Phase 1 and Phase 2 nominations are November 14 and November 17, respectively.

The deadline for withdrawing a nomination will be on November 17 and November 21 for Phases 1 and 2, respectively. The scrutiny of nominations will take place on November 15 and November 19 for Phases 1 and 2, respectively.