The Election Commission of India announced on Mar. 15 that it will reveal the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections on Mar. 16. The Lok Sabha election schedule will be disclosed during a press conference at 3 p.m. in New Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan. Campaigning for the impending polls is already in progress, with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) expressing confidence in securing over 400 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha.
Press Conference by Election Commission to announce schedule for #GeneralElections2024 & some State Assemblies will be held at 3 pm tomorrow ie Saturday, 16th March. It will livestreamed on social media platforms of the ECI pic.twitter.com/1vlWZsLRzt
— Spokesperson ECI (@SpokespersonECI) March 15, 2024
The Model Code of Conduct will be enforced immediately upon the announcement. It comprises guidelines issued by the Election Commission for political parties, candidates, the government, and the ruling party during the elections, pertaining to speeches, declarations, election manifestos, and overall conduct.
The current term of the Lok Sabha ends on Jun. 16, necessitating the formation of a new House before then. In the previous Lok Sabha elections, the polls were announced on March 10 and conducted in seven phases starting April 11, with vote counting on May 23.
The Election Commission's announcement of the poll schedule coincides with the induction of the two newly-appointed election commissioners – Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu – into the poll panel.
Earlier this month, the Election Commission disclosed that 96.88 crore individuals have registered to vote for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, making it the largest electorate in history. Additionally, two crore young electors aged between 18 to 29 years have been included in the voters' list.
"This also involved the successful conclusion of the revision of electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir and Assam, following constituency delimitation. The initiative, executed with careful planning, coordination, and engagement of political parties, has yielded significant accomplishments in terms of inclusivity, integrity, and purity of the electoral rolls," the EC stated.
Systematic assessments are being carried out across states to ensure election readiness. It is anticipated that the total number of polling stations will increase from 1.036 million in 2019 to 1.18 million in 2024. The number of voters is also projected to rise from 900 million in 2019 to above 950 million. Both factors will influence security considerations, as well as the phasing of elections. The 2019 polls were conducted in seven phases, in contrast to the nine phases in 2014.
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