NEW DELHI : The 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases from April 19 to June 1, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar announced on Saturday. Assembly elections in four states — Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim — and bypolls in 26 Assembly constituencies will also be held during the 44-day poll season. The results of all elections will be declared on June 4.
According to the CEC, voters will choose 102 candidates across 21 states in the first phase on April 19. The second phase on April 26 will cover 89 LS seats across 13 states/Union territories. The third phase polling will be held on May 7 in 12 states for 94 seats. The fourth phase on May 13 will seal the fate of 96 seats in 10 states. The next phase on May 20 will see voters in eight states choosing 49 candidates. Phase six on May 25 will elect 57 Parliamentarians across seven states. And the last phase on June 1 will elect candidates in the remaining 57 seats in eight states.
Elections in three states – Bihar (40 seats), Uttar Pradesh (80 seats), and West Bengal (42 seats) — will stretch across all seven phases.
Of the four states that will have Assembly elections, Arunchal Pradesh (60 seats) and Sikkim (32 seats) will have polls on April 19, while Andhra Pradesh (175 seats) will have elections on May 13. However, Odisha will vote for its 224-member state assembly poll alongside the 21 Lok Sabha seats in four phases on May 13, 20, 25, and June 1. The dates coincide with the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th phases of the general elections.
The poll authority is prepared to counter the challenges of four ‘M’s — muscle power, money power, misinformation, and Model Code of Conduct violations — the CEC said at a press conference flanked by two new Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.
“I would appeal to parties to maintain decorum during the campaign and refrain from personal attacks,” Kumar said.
Under no circumstances can children be used in campaigning, the CEC warned. He also said advertisements masquerading as news will not be permitted.
Kumar said Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir would take place soon after the Lok Sabha polls are over. He said this is due to security concerns as it will be difficult to hold events simultaneously.
The ruling BJP is confident of retaining power at the Centre on the back of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image while the Opposition parties are hopeful the voters will give them a chance. The Congress said this was “perhaps the last chance to save democracy and our Constitution from dictatorship”.