- Thursday, May 16, 2024
The battle to elect India’s next government will be held in seven phases concluding on June 1.
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE much awaited general elections to the Lok Sabha or Lower House of the Indian parliament will kick off on April 19 and continue till June 1, the country’s chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced in a press conference in New Delhi on Saturday (16).
The polling will take place in seven phases and their dates are — April 19 (21 states and Union Territories), April 26 (12 states and UTs), May 7 (12 states and UTs), May 13 (10 states and UTs), May 20 (8 states and UTs), May 25 (7 states and UTs) and June 1 (8 states and UTs).
The results will be declared on June 4.
In all, elections will take place for 543 constituencies and the party/alliance that wins 272 seats will form the government. Prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance won 336 and 351 seats in the 2014 and 2019 elections, respectively.
Besides the general elections, polls will also be held in four states of India around the same time. These states are the two north-eastern states of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh (April 19), southern state of Andhra Pradesh (May 13) and the eastern state of Odisha where a four-phase election will be held on May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.
The name of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, which has been under the president’s rule since 2018 and where the Supreme Court of India has sought election by September 30, was not on the list.
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Besides, by-elections to 26 seats in various states of the country, including Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu will also be held.
Kumar was particularly assertive over dealing with four ‘M’ challenges — money power, muscle power, spread of misinformation and violations of the Model Code of Conduct that came into force as soon as the dates were declared. He also asked the political parties of the country to ensure responsible social media behaviour.
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“Fake news will be dealt with severely as per existent laws.. Section 79 (3)(B) of the IT Act empowers nodal officers in each state to remove unlawful content,” he said.
Issuing a warning over making hate speeches during the campaign along caste or religious lines or over personal issues, Kumar said the campaign should be based on issues.
Addressing the media, he said they must clarify when they carry political adverts, those cannot masquerade as news. The commission has employed more than 2,000 advisors to monitor this and strong action will be initiated against the offenders, Kumar said.
While 970 million people will be eligible to vote in this election, the chief election commissioner said those above the age of 85 years and with disabilities (40 per cent disability) can cast their ballots from home. More than eight million voters are above 85, he said.
The exit of Arun Goel, one of the election commissioners, from the panel days ahead of the announcement of the poll schedule triggered a controversy. When asked about the matter, Kumar said if the former cited a personal reason for quitting, it should be respected.
On Thursday, a committee led by Modi named two retired Indian Administrative Service officers — Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar – as two new election commissioners and they took oath the next day.
(With PTI inputs)
