The Election Commission on Saturday (March 16) announced the dates for the General Elections 2024, set to determine the members of the 18th Lok Sabha. The seven-phased polls will begin on April 19, with results slated for declaration on June 4. The schedule was declared by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, alongside Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu. The announcement also triggered the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct. The CEC detailed the electoral statistics with a total of about 96.8 crore electors and slightly more than 97 crore registered voters. Elections will be facilitated by 10.5 lakh polling stations, 1.5 crore polling officials and security staff, and 55 lakh Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The polls will also involve the deployment of about 4 lakh vehicles. He also noted a significant segment of the electorate, with about 19.47 crore voters falling in the age group of 20-29 years.
Kumar informed the media that the term of the current, 17th Lok Sabha is due to expire on June 16, 2024. The tenure of several state Legislative Assemblies, including Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, are also set to end in June 2024. In addition, elections are due in Jammu and Kashmir.
Phase 1: Date: April 19
States/UTs: 21
Constituencies: 102
Phase 2: Date: April 26
States/UTs: 13
Constituencies: 89
Phase 3: Date: May 7
States/UTs: 12
Constituencies: 94
Phase 4: Date: May 13
States/UTs: 10
Constituencies: 96
Phase 5: Date: May 20
States/UTs: 8
Constituencies: 49
Phase 6: Date: May 25
States/UTs: 7
Constituencies: 57
Phase 7: Date: June 1
States/UTs: 8
Constituencies: 57
To frame the context, the Lok Sabha Elections of 2019 also took place in seven phases, from April 11 to May 19 with results announced on May 23. The ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) achieved a dominant victory, clinching 303 seats, as opposed to the Indian National Congress, which secured only 52 seats.
Lok Sabha 2024 dates live: Elections will be held in 7 phases from April 19. Results on June 4