Polls to be held in 7 phases to elect the 18th Lok Sabha

The Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar, announced a seven-phase election schedule for the general election to constitute the 18th Lok Sabha on 16 April 2024.  The Lok Sabha consist of 543 elected members. 

Rajiv Kumar also announced the schedule for the State assembly elections to be held in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Odisha. These four state legislative assembly elections and the Lok Sabha polls will be held simultaneously. Election dates for by-polls for 26 Assembly seats will also be held along with the Lok Sabha elections.

The results of the Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly elections will be announced on June 4, 2024. The Election Commission of India later changed the counting of votes for the Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh legislative assemblies from 4 June to 2 June 2024. The terms of these two states' legislative assemblies expire on 2 June 2024.

The present 17th Lok Sabha, which was constituted in 2019, ends on 16 June 2024. The term of the other 2 State legislative assembly  also ends in June.

Schedule of the Lok Sabha Election 

The election schedule for the Lok Sabha, as announced by the Election Commission of India, is as follows.

In the last parliamentary polls held in 2019, the BJP won 303 seats, while the Congress got 52 seats out of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha. The BJP is seeking a third consecutive win in the Lok Sabha election.

Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal to have 7-phase election 

 The Election Commission announced that the Lok Sabha will be held in seven phases, just like the 2019 elections. According to the Chief Election Commissioner, the election has been scheduled based on geographic conditions, festivals, exams, and other factors. 

In many states, the voting will be done in a single day, but in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Bihar, it will take place in seven phases.

Schedule of the State Legislative Assembly 

• The election to constitute the 11th Arunachal Legislative Assembly, which has 60 members, will be held on 19 April. 
• The election to constitute the 11th Sikkim Legislative Assembly will be held on 19 April 2024. The Sikkim Legislative Assembly has the strength of 32 members.
• The election to constitute the 16th Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly will be held on 13 May 2024. The Assembly has 175 members. 
• The election to constitute the 17th Odisha Legislative Assembly will be held in four phases: May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1. The Odisha Legislative Assembly consists of 147 members.
• Counting votes in all these four states will occur on 4 June.

Voters of  the General Election 2024

• Eligible Indian citizens aged 18 and above can vote in the forthcoming election. According to the Election Commission of India, around  97 crore people are eligible to vote.
•  This includes 1.8 crore Indians who recently turned 18 and will be eligible to cast their vote for the first time.
• Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said voters older than 85 will be allowed to vote from home. He also said that minimum basic facilities, such as drinking water and toilets, will be available at all polling booths. 

Model Code of Conduct Enforced

• With the announcement of the election schedules, the model code of conduct automatically came into force. It will be effective from 16 March until the Election Commission of India notifies the election result.
• The Model code of conduct is a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India for political parties and candidates contesting the election. The model code of conduct ensures free and fair elections and a level playing field for all contestants.
• The Model Code of Conduct was first introduced in the 1960 Kerala legislative assembly election. 
• In the Lok Sabha election it was introduced for the first time in the 1962 Lok Sabha election.