16 March 2024/
SETTLING THE MONTHS LONG POLITICAL BATTLE, THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA DECLARES POLL SCHEDULE FOR 18TH LOK SABHA
The Election Commission of India declared a 7-phased Poll schedule for the general elections to the 18th Lok Sabha and four State Assemblies in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh at the Press Conference today. Bye-elections to 26 Assembly Constituencies of different states will also be held along with the Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections.
The dates of polling for the Lok Sabha are April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June1. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.
In 2019, the general elections were announced on 10th March and conducted in seven phases from April 11 to May 18 and the results were declared on 23 May 2019. Elections to the state legislatures of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim were also held along with the Lok Sabha polls. The current 17th Lok Sabha’s term ends on June 16, a new House has to be constituted before that. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the ruling party BJP secured 303 seats while the Congress won 52 seats. BJP- led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) consisting of 37 parties including Nationalist Congress Party NCP (Ajith Pawar), Janata Dal (Secular), Janata Dal (United) and Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) won a sweeping victory securing 353 of the 543 Seats in the Lok Sabha.
Election announcement was expected earlier, but the surprise resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel and the retirement of Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey had led to the situation that the strength of the three-member Commission reduced to one followed by the appointment of ECs by a high-powered panel chaired by the Prime Minister. Former IAS Officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu assumed charge along with the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on 15th March 2024.
Nearly 96.88 crores people will be eligible to cast votes in the upcoming 18th Lok Sabha Elections in 2024.
BJP has announced 267 candidates and Congress has declared 82 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Other opposition parties, Aam Aadmi Party, TMC, Left Parties and others also announced their candidates now.
Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the elections will come into force with immediate effect till the declaration of election results.
