Lok Sabha Elections Schedule 2024: Polls To Be Held In 7 Phases From April 19
The election to the 18th Lok Sabha will be held in seven phases starting from April 19 and the votes will be counted on June 4.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has officially sounded the poll bugle as it announced the dates for the election to the 18th Lok Sabha on Saturday In a press conference held in the national capital, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced the election schedule wherein the polling will be held in seven phases starting from April 19 and go on till June 1. The votes will be counted on June 4.
Besides announcing the dates for the Lok Sabha election, the Election Commission also announced the polling dates for Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim. The schedule for state assembly polls is as follows:
Arunachal Pradesh: April 19
Andhra Pradesh: May 13
Odisha: May 13 and 20
Sikkim: April 19
The current term of the Lok Sabha ends on June 16, necessitating the formation of a new House before then. Concurrently, the assemblies in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Odisha are set to end their terms on different dates in June.
The announcement comes exactly one week after Arun Goel resigned as Election Commissioner, paving the way for the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as Election Commissioners, who took office on Friday.
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Earlier, the election body stated that approximately 97 crore Indians would be eligible to vote in this year's Lok Sabha elections, representing a 6% increase in registered voters since 2019. Following the months-long intense Special Summary Revision 2024, the Election Commission of India issued electoral registers in all states and union territories across the country in early February.
The Election Commission is committed to ensuring inducement-free, impartial, peaceful, and transparent polling during the Lok Sabha election, and it will maintain a level playing field for all political parties, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar stated at a news conference earlier this month.
In addition to the Lok Sabha election, several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh, are planning simultaneous assembly elections in the coming months, according to media reports.
In 2019, the Lok Sabha elections were held in seven phases between April and May. The results were announced on May 23, 2019.
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