The Election Commission on Saturday, March 16, announced that the upcoming polls for the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament), as well as simultaneous elections to four states, will be held in seven phases starting April 19.
Twenty two states will vote for Lok Sabha candidates in the first phase on April 19. The results will be announced on June 4.
| Phases | Lok Sabha Election Date | States |
| Phase 1 | April 19 | 22 states including Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh. Other names mentioned below under this table. |
| Phase 2 | April 26 | 89 constituencies spread across the following states: Rajasthan, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Assam, Tripura, and Manipur. |
| Phase 3 | May 7 | 94 constituencies spread across Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, and Jammu and Kashmir. |
| Phase 4 | May 13 | 96 constituencies across Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. |
| Phase 5 | May 20 | 49 constituencies spread across Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, and Maharashtra. |
| Phase 6 | May 25 | 57 constituencies across Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Odisha. |
| Phase 7 | May 30 | 57 constituencies across Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Odisha |
All the states and union territories that go to polls on April 19 include Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Ladakh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Telangana, and Uttarakhand.
Nearly 970 million people are eligible to cast vote in the upcoming polls at over 1.2 million polling stations.
| Number of phases | States |
| Two polling dates | Karnataka (April 26 and May 7), Rajasthan, Manipur and Tripura (April 19 and April 26) |
| Three polling dates | Chhattisgarh (April 19, April 26, and May 7), Assam (April 19, April 26, and May 7) |
| Four polling dates | Odisha (May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1), Madhya Pradesh (April 19, April 26, May 7, and May 13) and Jharkhand (May 13, May 20, |
| Five polling dates | Maharashtra as well as Jammu and Kashmir (April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, and May 20) |
| Seven polling dates | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal (Polling will happen all seven phases mentioned above) |
“We have 18 million first-time voters and 194.7 million voters between the age group of 20-29 years. 5-6 lakh people will attain the age of 18 by April 1 this year,” the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said.
Source: Election Commission of IndiaThere are now 948 women for every 1000 male voters in India. In 12 states the ratio of women voters is higher than men voters, according to the EC.
The rise of women voters in IndiaThe Election Commission will launch a 'Myth vs Reality' section on its website to curb misinformation and fake news during the polls.
These are some of the other highlights to ensure free and fair polls from the Election Commission's announcements:
Strict directions given to District Magistrates and the Police to ensure level playing field for all parties.
2,100 observers will be appointed, aside from the field officers.
The Central Armed Police Forces will be deployed, and they will be assisted by integrated control rooms in each district.
Drones will be used for vigilance.
The EC has held extensive reviews with enforcement agencies to ensure coordination to curb the flow of illicit money in the elections. In the 2022-23 election cycle, unaccounted cash seized by authorities surged nine times to ₹3,400 crore in 11 states compared to five years ago.
Enforcement agencies are directed to crackdown on illicit money, liquor, drugs, and freebies, staying vigilant against disruptive methods..
According to a News 18 opinion poll, the BJP-led NDA is headed for a "historic mandate" in the upcoming polls. The opinion poll claimed that the NDA is set to win 411 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha with the BJP alone clinching a record 350 seats.
In 2019, the Lok Sabha polls were announced on March 10 and held in seven phases beginning April 11. Votes were counted on May 23. In the last parliamentary polls, the BJP had won 303 seats while the Congress got 52 seats. It could not muster enough numbers to claim the position of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
First Published: Mar 16, 2024 3:50 PM IST
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