The counting of votes for Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat may not be held simultaneously on December 18. The Election Commission reportedly feels that results for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly polls need not and may not be declared the same day. The idea is to only finish polling in Gujarat before December 18 so that Himachal results do not affect the way Gujarat votes. This means polling in Gujarat can be held right until December 17. Further, the commission reportedly feels that given that there must be a 46-day gap between the announcement of a poll and actual polling, the announcement of Gujarat assembly poll dates can wait till November 2. In the context of opposition parties' allegations on delay in announcing Gujarat election date, it is clarified that the Commission had, during its two-day visit to Gujarat on October 9 and 10 to assess poll preparedness, received feedback that flood relief and rehabilitation work in the affected parts of the state were at a crucial stage. The visiting EC team felt that starting the poll process at this juncture may slow down relief and rehabilitation as the authorities would then be focused on elections.Since there is no urgency to declare the Gujarat elections as polling needs to be completed only by December 18, the EC technically has time till November 2 to make the announcement. The EC feels a lot of ground has to be covered until then to rehabilitate the flood-affected people. This explains the reason for a separate announcement of the schedule for Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat polls.