It is not clear why the Election Commission announced the date for Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, a single-phase vote on November 9, but not for Gujarat, which also needs to go to the polls this winter. The EC has said that the results for Himachal Pradesh will be declared on December 18 while elections in Gujarat will be held before that date. Be that as it may, the model code of conduct has kicked in for the hill State, which is poised for a direct contest between the ruling Congress and the Bhartiya Janta Party. Himachal Pradesh has returned these parties alternately to power for each term since the early 1990s. Smaller parties formed by dissidents and rebels from the Congress and the BJP in the late-1990s and the early 2010s faded away after gaining small pockets of support, ensuring that this will be a clear contest between the two national parties. The Congress already has a head start in the campaign, having announced that the 83-year-old Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is its chief ministerial candidate, while the BJP is yet to choose between former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and Union Minister J.P. Nadda. The Congress proactive strategy is understandable. Himachal is one of a handful of States in the country that are ruled by the party, and holding the State is important to stave off suggestions of a decline, or possibly to hold out hope. As a State, Himachal Pradesh is placed somewhere at the top in terms of social indices, which is reflected in its high HDI (human development index) ranking, rate of literacy and rural well-being.This is largely a consequence of the welfare programmes of successive State governments. The public sector, services and the tourism industry play vital roles in its economy.