Polling for the upcoming Lok Sabha 2019 elections will begin from 11 April and end on 19 May. The polling will happen in seven phases and the counting will take place on 23 May, the Election Commission (EC) announced today. The model code of conduct (MCC) kicks in right away across the country and will be in effect till results are announced in May. The code is in place to ensure a level playing field for all the contesting candidates and political parties.
With the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) banking on regional parties to stitch up their numbers beyond the Hindi heartland states, this election is turning out to be the biggest platform for alliance politics.
The resurgence of regional parties and rising instances of identity politics are also heralding an era of pre-poll alliances, forcing the non-BJP and non-Congress outfits to pick a side ahead of the forthcoming Lok Sabha election. (Read more)
The Elections Commission has announced the schedule of 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. The elections will be held between April and May in seven phases, starting from April 11. The counting of votes will be on May 23. (Here is a look at state-wise polling dates)
Eletction Commission lays down guidelines for political parties and candidates to be followed during the poll schedule, while holding meetings, processions and conduct at polling booths.
Soon after the election dates were announced, Prime Minister Narendra Modi put out a series of tweets welcoming the ‘festival of democracy’ and urging voters to support the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for a second consecutive term.
Elections to these four states - Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh - will follow the same schedule as corresponding parliamentary constituencies for relevant assembly segments, CEC Sunil Arora.
Phase 1 (April 11) - 91 constituencies states in 20 states to go to polls
Phase 2 (April 18) - 97 constituencies in 13 states
Phase 3 (April 23)- 115 constituencies in 14 states
Phase 4 (April 29)- 71 constituencies in 9 states
Phase 5 (May 6)- 51 constituencies in 7 states
Phase 6 (May 12)- 59 constituencies in 7 states
Phase 7 (May 19) - 59 constituencies in 8 states
Bihar (8), Jharkhand (3), MP (8), Punjab (13), West Bengal (9), Chandigarh (1), UP (13), Himachal (4); Total: 59
Bihar (8), Haryana (10), Jharkhand (4), MP (8), UP (14), West Bengal (8), Delhi-NCR (7); Total: 59
Bihar (5), J&K (2), Jharkhand (4), MP (7), Rajasthan (12), UP (14), West Bengal (7); Total: 71
Bihar (5), J&K (1), Jharkhand (3), MP (6), Maharashtra (17), Odisha (6), Rajasthan (14), UP (13), West Bengal (8); Total: 71
Assam (4), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (7), Gujarat (7), Goa (2), J&K (1), Karnataka (14), Kerala (20), Maharashtra (14), Odisha (6), UP (10), West Bengal (5), Dadra and Nagar Haveli (1), Daman and Diu (1); Total: 115
Assam (5), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (3), J&K (2), Karnataka (14), Maharashtra (10), Manipur (1), Odisha (5), Tamil Nadu (39), Tripura (1), UP (8), West Bengal (3), Puducherry (1); Total: 97
Andhra (25), Arunachal (2), Assam (5), Bihar (4), Chhattisgarh (1), J&K (2), Maharashtra (7), Manipur (1), Meghalaya (2), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (1), Odisha (4), Sikkim (1), Telangana (17), Tripura (1), UP (8), Uttarakhand (5), West Bengal (2), Andaman (1), Lakshadweep (1); Total (91)
Karnataka, Manipur, Rajasthan, Tripura
Counting will be on May 23
Phase one - 11 April
Phase two - 18 April
Phase three - 23 April
Phase four - 29 April
Phase five - 6 May
Phase six - 12 May
Phase seven - 19 May
Date of counting 23 May
The election will be in seven phases
Socila media platforms like Facebook, Twitter can take any action against any candidate if the complaint is verified by CEC
Candidates are required to furnish details of their social media accounts: CEC
1950 is the election helpline number to check your name and election-related information: CEC
Total electorate in this Lok Sabha elections will be 900 million, of which 15 million voters are in the 18-19 age group.
In order to curb noise pollution, usage of loud speakers is prohibited between 10pm-6am: CEC
Have asked political parties to desist from using environmentally hazardous material during poll campaign: CEC
There is a mobile app for citizens where they can record any violation of code of conduct and send it to Election Commission. The action will be taken in 100 minutes: CEC
Model Code of Conduct comes into effect from today itself in the entire country: CEC
The panel has specified elaborate SoPs for EVMs and VVPATs. The aim to familiarize as many voters as possible with EVMs and VVPATs.
VVPATs will be used with EVMs at all polling stations. 17.4 lakh VVPATs are needed for conducting Lok Sabha Elections 2019
Approx 10 lakh polling station in 2019. In 2014, it was around 9 lakh
Voter guide has been prepared for people carrying all relevant information. Photo voter slip shall be used for guidance but not as proof of identity at polling stations, says Sunil Arora
There is an increase of 84.3 million as compared to 814.5 million electorate in 2014: Sunil Arora
Around 900 million electorate size in 2019 general election, The process of updation of electoral rolls will continue till last date of filing of nomination, says CEC
Our aim is to hold free and fair election: Sunil Arora
"We visited 7 states and UTs to assess poll preparedness. This includes interactions with political parties, Chief Electoral Officer, police officials among others": CEC Sunil Arora
EC starts press conference. Poll dates will be announced shorty
EC may go by the precedent and hold assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh along with the Lok Sabha polls.
In 2014, the EC had announced the election schedule on March 5 and the nine-phase electoral exercise was spread across April and May.
In 2009, the EC had announced Lok Sabha poll scheduled on March 2. The five-phase polls began on April 16 and ended on 13 May.
More than 830 million Indians were eligible to vote in the last general election in 2014, more than three times the voting-age population of the United States in 2017.
But only about 553 million Indians, or 66 percent of all eligible voters, came out to vote five years ago.
The fight is for 543 of the 545 seats in India's lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha. The remaining two seats are reserved for the Anglo-Indian community, which traces part of its ancestry to Europeans who intermarried with Indians in the colonial era
The entire voting procedure is conducted by Election Commission of India (ECI), an autonomous constitutional authority, with a staff of more than 300 full-time officials at its headquarters in New Delhi. The poll schedule for the the last three general elections was announced in the first week of March
Vigyan Bhawan’s plenary hall readies for Election Commission’s briefing on the poll schedule announcement for Lok Sabh elections
Lok Sabha Elections 2019 is likely to be spread over 7-8 phases in April-May, PTI reported.
The term of the present Lok Sabha ends on 3 June
The Election Commission will set up a total of 10,35,932 polling booths across 4.36 lakh locations across India for the Lok Sabha elections 2019, reports said
