Congress party on Wednesday released the election manifesto ahead of the the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections 2017. The Himachal Pradesh elections will be held on November 9 and the results will be declared on December 18. On October 12, the Election Commission was criticised for announcing the poll dates for Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh before it announced the schedule for Gujarat. The commission, however, defended its decision. The Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh was scheduled for November, earlier than in Gujarat, because of the probability of snowfall in the northern state, Chief Election Commissioner Achal Kumar Joti had said.