The Election Commission of India on Saturday announced the schedule for the 543 parliamentary constituencies for 18th Lok Sabha elections, the biggest democratic exercise in the world involving 96.8 crore voters, including 21.5 crore young voters between age 18 to 29 years old.
The poll schedule for four state Assemblies - Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim - were also declared.
Besides this, bypolls to 26 Assembly seats will be held in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Tripura, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu.
With this, the Model Code of Conduct, as is the established norm, came into immediate effect.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, flanked by the two newly appointed Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, said elections would be held in seven phases. In 2019, elections were also held in seven phases.
The Lok Sabha elections 2024 will be held at 10.5 lakh polling stations from April 19 to June 1 and counting of votes will be held on June 4.
The first phase of polling will be conducted on April 19, the second phase will be held 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 and final phase will be held on June 1.
The current tenure of the 17th Lok Sabha ends on June 24.
There was also a great deal of popular anticipation as to whether polls for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly would be synchronised with the parliamentary election. That, however, has not happened, perhaps due to considerations relating to the security situation in the region.
The Supreme Court has directed that polls for the Union Territory of J&K have to be completed by September end.
Pak plans to give Rs 14 crore to Masood Azhar from public funds: Rajnath Singh
Addressing troops at a military base in Gujarat's Bhuj, Rajnath Singh claimed that the Pakistan government intended to give Rs 14 crore to Masood Azhar, the UN-designated terrorist and chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
India's GDP growth in Q4 of 2024-25 expected at 6.8-7 per cent: Report
The Indian economy is expected to grow at 6.8-7 per cent in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2024-25, driven by the agriculture sector, according to a Bank of Baroda report released on Friday.
BJP, Congress welcome govt's move to send multi-party MP delegations abroad on Pahalgam attack
The Narendra Modi-led government's planned diplomatic initiative of sending multi-party MP delegations to major world capitals to expose Pakistan’s role in the recent Pahalgam terror attack and to rally global support against cross-border terrorism has won support from both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.
Operation Sindoor reflects PM Modi’s resolve, seamless intelligence, and armed forces’ power: HM Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday lauded ‘Operation Sindoor’, India’s counterstrike in response to the deadly Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, as a defining moment in the nation’s evolving security architecture.
Operation Sindoor: 48-member multi-party MP delegations to launch India's global diplomatic blitz from May 22
In a massive diplomatic push, the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to dispatch multi-party MP delegations to key world capitals to expose Pakistan's hand in the recent Pahalgam terror attack and to build global support against cross-border terrorism.
Priority given to development of border villages in North Eastern states: Union MoS Dr. L Murugan
The Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Dr. L Murugan on Thursday arrived here at Agartala on a two-day visit to the state and laid emphasis on proper implementation of the flagship programmes of the Prime Minister.
MHA sanctioned another Tripura State Rifles battalion: CM Saha
An official of the Tripura Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said that the decision to create another TSR battalion was taken based on Chief Minister Manik Saha's proposal placed before Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his recent meeting in New Delhi.
CM Dr Manik Saha seeks support from DoNER ministry for AIMS in Tripura
Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Thursday attended the second meeting of the High-Level Task Force on Investment Promotion in the North Eastern Region chaired by the DoNER Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and sought support of the ministry for establishment of AIMS in Tripura.