Lok Sabha Election 2024 dates out : 10 key highlights of seven-phase voting
- The Lok Sabha polls 2024 will be held in seven phases between April 19 and June 1. The results will be declared on June 4, according to the poll schedule released by Election Commission of India on March 16.
The Lok Sabha polls 2024 will be held from April 19 in seven phases across the country, chief election commissioner (CEC), Rajiv Kumar announced here in the national capital on Saturday, March 16.
The last phase of voting will be held on June 1, the CEC said. The results of Lok Sabha Polls 2024, Kumar said, will be declared on June 4, the day of counting of votes.
Seven phases
The first phase of voting for 102 parliamentary constituencies will be held on April 19, covering 21 states and union territories, the commission said. The second phase for 89 constituencies will be held on April 26, covering 13 states and union territories and the third phase for 94 constituencies on May 7, covering 12 states and union territories, it said.
The fourth phase of voting for 96 seats will be held on May 13, covering 10 states and union territories and the fifth phase for 49 seats on May 20, covering eight states and union territories.
The sixth phase of polling for 57 parliamentary constituencies will be held on May 25 covering seven states and union territories and the seventh, and the last phase, for another 57 seats is scheduled to be held on June 1, covering eight states and union territories, as per the schedule shared by the election commission.
1.89 Cr first-time voters
About 96.8 crore voters, comprising 49.7 crore men and 47.1 crore women, are eligible to cast their franchise across 543 constituencies at over 10.5 lakh polling stations in the country to elect the 18th Lok Sabha. The voters include 1.89 crore first time voters, including 85 lakh women.
The term of incumbent 17th Lok Sabha is ending on June 16.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, led by PM Modi, is seeking a record third term in the upcoming elections. Only Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister, has had three back-to-back terms in office in India's independent history so far.
Model Code of Conduct
With the announcement of poll dates, the election Model Code of Conduct (MCC) comes into place with immediate effect.
The panel said it has issued instructions for swift, effective and stringent action for enforcement of MCC during the first 72 hours of announcement of the election schedule and also for maintaining extra vigilance and strict enforcement action in the last 72 hours prior to the close of polls.
Target 370 for BJP
The BJP, and PM Modi, has kept a target of 370 seats for the party and 400+ seats for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the upcoming polls. The ruling alliance is up against the INDIA bloc, an amalgamation of several opposition parties including the Congress.
The BJP has released two lists of 265 candidates, while the Congress has released names of at least 82 candidates in two lists so far.
In 2019, the Lok Sabha poll dates were announced on March 10. The polling was held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha.
Then the result, declared on May 23, 2019, saw a landslide victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with 303 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha.
Assembly Elections
The poll panel said that the elections to four state assemblies will also be held along the Lok Sabha elections. These include 175-member Andhra Pradesh assembly, 147-member Odisha assembly, 60-member Arunachal Pradesh assembly and 32-member Sikkim assembly. The term of these four assemblies also expires in June. The results of state assembly elections will also be declared on June 4.
Jammu and Kashmir, which has been under President's Rule since 2018, was not on the list of assembly elections, however.
The commission also announced the schedule of by-elections to the 26 assembly seats to be held along the general elections.
Vote-from home
Senior citizens aged 85 years and above and persons with disabilities can opt for postal ballots and cast their votes from homes, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Saturday while announcing the schedule for the polls beginning April 19.
As on March 10, 2024, there are 81,87,999 senior citizen electors above 85 years and 2,18,442 electors above 100 years in the country.
Flying squads
The Election Commission of India has issued a Standard Operating Procedure for Flying Squads and Static Surveillance Teams, constituted for keeping vigil over excessive campaign expenses, distribution of items of bribe in cash or in kind, movement of illegal arms, ammunition, liquor, or antisocial elements in the constituencies during election process.
₹95 Lakh limit
As per the revised ceilings, the maximum limit of election expenses for a Lok Sabha constituency is ₹95 lakh per candidate for all states except Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Sikkim. For these three states it is ₹75 lakh per candidate. For the Union Territories, the maximum limit for NCT of Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir is ₹95 lakh per candidate and ₹75 lakh per candidate for other UTs
Social media ethics
The MCC provisions and related instructions are applicable to the content posted on social media platforms by candidates and political parties, the election commission said.
Keeping in view increasing incidents of misuse of social media and as a result of commission's vigorous persuasion, major social media platforms agreed to observe Voluntary Code of Ethics formulated by them in March, 2019, the panel said. This will be applicable in these elections as well.
"Social media Cell in collaboration with cyber cell unit in all districts have been constituted for quick response and action with the legal framework including Information Technology Act, 2000 (“IT Act”) and the Information Technology (Intermediary guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021," the panel said.
New team
The poll schedule by the poll panel comes a day after the two newly appointed election commissioners, Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, took charge on Friday. The two were appointed election commissioners by the selection panel chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
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Business NewsPoliticsNewsLok Sabha Election 2024 dates out : 10 key highlights of seven-phase voting
First Published:16 Mar 2024, 07:45 PM IST
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