New Delhi, Mar 16: The Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases spread over 44 days starting April 19 in the world’s largest election, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi eyeing a third consecutive term in office. Counting of votes will be taken up on June 4.
Announcing the poll schedule to elect the 543-member Lok Sabha, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told a news conference on Saturday that over 97 crore voters–49.7 crore male and 47.1 crore female–are eligible to cast their votes across 10.5 lakh polling booths.
While the opposition INDIA bloc remains hit by internal bickerings, Modi, 73, is not just looking to stamp his electoral dominance in the country but is also chasing history looking for another consecutive victory that will equal the country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s record.
Assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim will be held on April 19, and in Andhra Pradesh on May 13. Elections to Odisha assembly will be held in four phases on May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.
Bypolls will also be held for 26 assembly constituencies in different states, said Kumar, who was flanked by the two new Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.
Polling will be held in all seven phases in three states–Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, all considered key states in the fight for electoral supremacy.
The elections for the 18th Lok Sabha will begin on April 19 followed by subsequent phases on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1, said Kumar. The entire election process, from the announcement of polls on Saturday to the declaration of results, lasts 82 days.
Asserting that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance(NDA) is fully prepared for the general elections, Prime Minister Modi slammed the opposition as “rudderless” and “issueless” and expressed confidence about retaining power.
“The biggest festival of democracy is here! EC has announced the 2024 Lok Sabha election dates. We, the BJP-NDA, are fully prepared for elections,” he said in a series of posts on X with the hashtag ‘Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar’ (‘once again Modi government’), shortly after the poll announcement.
57 constituencies spread across seven states/UTs. Polling in two more states/UTs would be completed with this phase.
The seventh and final phase will take place on June 1 in 57 constituencies spread across eight states/UTs. The polling process in eight states/UTs would be completed.
Seen by political watchers as the favourite to retain power for a third straight term, the BJP has set itself an ambitious target of winning 370 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP also hopes to make the most of the religious fervour generated by the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.
Entering the Lok Sabha poll fray after two successive defeats with its political image considerably dented, the Congress on the other hand faces a tough battle for its very survival this election as it fights a powerful BJP.
On the poll schedule, the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal said there is no valid reason for holding elections in seven phases for the 42 seats in the eastern state, claiming that more phases help political parties with deeper pockets.
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya also claimed that the EC did not take into account the state government’s suggestion of holding the elections in a single phase or two phases in the state. (Agencies)
