The Election Commission (EC) has rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party's request to accept nominations for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections on the public holiday on November 12. The EC has cited the Negotiable Instruments Act as the reason behind not accepting the nomination, a senior official said.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Gujarat, P Bharathi, said 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 state Assembly polls to be held 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.

Of the total 182 assembly seats in Gujarat, 89 seats will vote on December 1 and the rest 93 seats on December 5. The counting of votes will take place on December 8.

With inputs from PTI