2019 Election Date: Lok Sabha, 4 State Election Dates To Be Announced At 5 pm By Election Commission: 10 Points

2019 Election Date: Elections for the 545 Lok Sabha seats are due by May. (Representational image)

Highlights

Election Commission to announce dates for high-stakes battle
PM Modi seeks re-election, opposition attempts to consolidate votes
Andhra, Odisha, Arunachal and Sikkim to also vote for state polls

New Delhi: The dates for national election will be announced by the Election Commission this evening at 5 pm, signaling the start of a gigantic voting exercise that will see Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking another term in office and the opposition attempting to join forces to put up a strong fight. Elections will also be held in four states -- Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Odisha - along with the parliamentary polls. The opposition Congress had accused the Election Commission of delaying the dates to enable the government to rush through the launch of welfare schemes and projects; no announcements can be made once the model code of conduct kicks in with the election dates. Commission sources have rubbished the claims.

Here are the top 10 facts in this big story:

Elections for the 543 Lok Sabha seats have to be held by May. The term of the present Lok Sabha ends on June 3.
Elections are due in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh by April-May.
In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party, the BJP, became the first party in three decades to win a majority on its own; the BJP scooped 282 of the 543 seats in Lok Sabha, where the majority mark is 272. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 336 seats.
The Congress was voted out of power after two terms and was reduced to just 44 seats. It could not even qualify for the post of the "Leader of the Opposition", for which a party needs 10 per cent of the seats in the Lok Sabha.
The Model Code of Conduct, which lays down the dos and don'ts ahead of the elections, will come into effect the moment the dates are announced. Among other things, the code bars the government from announcing policy decisions.
Over the last months, the Commission officials have been on meticulous stock-taking tours, checking whether all the states have been logistically ready to hold elections.
Alleging a delay by the election body, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel had tweeted: "Is the Election Commission waiting for the Prime Minister's "official" travel programs to conclude before announcing dates for General Elections?"
It is not yet decided whether the elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held along with the Lok Sabha elections. The state has been under Governor's rule since the BJP ended the ruling alliance with Mehbooba Mufti's People's Democratic Party in June.
Amid appeals by political parties for holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission officials have done a feasibility check. The situation in the state has been sensitive following the February 14 terror attack in Pulwama.
In 2014, the Commission had announced the schedule on March 5. The nine-phase electoral exercise was spread across April and May. While the first phase polling was held on April 7, the last phase took place on May 12.