Shimla, Oct 18 (PTI) Two candidates filed their papers on the second day of filing nominations on Tuesday for Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls slated to be held on November 12, an election official said.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Maneesh Garg said here that two candidates from 8-Fatehpur and 9-Jawali Assembly Constituencies in Kangra district filed their nominations.

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Ashok Kumar Somal (64) filed his nomination as an Independent candidate from Fatehpur Assembly Constituency, while Arun Kumar (42) filed his nomination from Jawali Assembly Constituency as Himachal Jan Kranti Party candidate, he added.

No candidate filed nomination on the first day of filing papers on Monday.

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The ruling BJP and the opposition Congress have yet not declared their candidates for any of the 68 seats in the state Assembly.

Trying his luck for the first time here, AAP already declared its candidates on four seats and it may declare its candidates for the remaining 64 seats by Wednesday evening, AAP HP incharge and Punjab minister Harjot Bains said here on Tuesday.

The notification for the state elections was issued on October 17 and the last date for the filing of nominations is October 25.

Scrutiny of papers will be held on October 27 and the last date for the withdrawal of papers is October 29.

The voting for the 68 assembly seats in the hill state is scheduled to take place on November 12 while the counting will take place on December 8.

In the assembly, the BJP currently has 43 members, followed by 22 of the Congress. There are two Independents and one CPM MLA in the assembly.

A direct contest between the BJP and the Congress is likely in the state, where the Aam Aadmi Party will also be trying its luck.

As of now, 55,74,793 people are eligible to vote in the polls.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)