The Election Commission of India has announced the 2024 Lok Sabha elections schedule, with voting set to begin on April 19 and results to be declared on June 4, 2024. The elections will be conducted in seven phases spread over 44 days. The term of the 17th Lok Sabha assembly will expire on June 16, 2024.
The first phase will be held on April 19, followed by the second phase on April 26, the third phase on May 7, the fourth phase on May 13, the fifth phase on May 20, the sixth phase on May 25, and the seventh phase on June 1, 2024.
The first phase of elections will span across 21 States and Union Territories, the second phase will cover 12 States and Union Territories, the third phase will encompass 12 States and Union Territories, and the fourth phase will cover 10 States and Union Territories.
Moreover, the fifth phase will cover 8 States and Union Territories, the sixth phase will span across 7 States and Union Territories, and the seventh phase will cover 8 States and Union Territories.
Assembly elections will also be held in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha alongside the Lok Sabha Polls. With this, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will have the second longest voting period after the 1951-52 parliamentary elections.
The first parliamentary elections of 1951-52 were lasted for around four months, making it the longest voting period in India. The country's first general election was held in 68 phases between October 25, 1951 and February 21, 1952 for 489 Lok Sabha seats across 401 constituencies in 25 states, as per news agency PTI.
During these elections, voters elected one member each in 314 constituencies and two members (one member from general category and one from Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe categories) and one constituency elected three representatives. Multi-seat constituencies were, however, abolished in the 1960s.
Himachal Pradesh voted in 1951 due to weather-related concerns whereas the remaining states voted in February-March of 1952. No voting, however, took place in Jammu and Kashmir until 1967.
Between 1962 to 1989, duration of Lok Sabha elections was between 4-10 days. The shortest Lok Sabha election was held in 1980 from January 3-6 when Indira Gandhi was voted back into power.
In 2004, the Lok Sabha polls took place in four phases spread across 21 days. In 2009, the general elections were held in five phases across a month. The 2014 general elections were held in nine phases and took 36 days.