Lok Sabha Elections 2024: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday announced that the filing of nominations for the second phase of the general elections begins on Thursday, March 28. This phase consists of 88 Parliamentary Constituencies (PC) in 12 States/Union Territories along with one in outer Manipur, which will go into polls on April 26.
“Nominations for the second Phase of General Elections 2024 will begin tomorrow. The Gazette notification for 88 Parliamentary Constituencies (PCs) across 12 States/Union Territories (UTs) going for polls in the General Elections to Lok Sabha 2024 will be issued tomorrow,” the ECI said in a statement on March 27.
According to the EC notice, nominations for all 11 states/UTs except Jammu and Kashmir will be scrutinised on April 5; for Jammu and Kashmir, it will be on April 6.
The announcement for elections in the Outer Manipur PC was incorporated into the Phase 1 gazette notification. On April 19, 15 Assembly Constituencies in Outer Manipur PC will vote in Phase 1, while 13 Assembly Constituencies will vote in Phase 2.
The Phase 2 will include the States/UTs of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, along with one part Parliamentary Constituency in Manipur (Outer Manipur).
On March 16, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced the election schedule wherein the polling will be held in seven phases starting from April 19 and going on till June 1. The votes will be counted on June 4. In addition to the Lok Sabha election, several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh, are conducting simultaneous assembly elections.
The election body had stated earlier that approximately 97 crore Indians would be eligible to vote in this year's Lok Sabha elections, representing a 6 per cent increase in registered voters since 2019. Following the months-long intense Special Summary Revision 2024, the poll body issued electoral registers in all states and union territories across the country in early February.