Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced the dates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections today. The polls will be held in 7 phases, beginning from April 19 and ending on June 1. The results will be declared on June 4. No simultaneous polls will be held, he said. The assembly polls for Andhra Pradesh will be on May 13, Sikkim on April 19, Arunachal Pradesh on April 19, and Odisha will be held on May 13. In a press conference today, the Election Commission said it is working towards combating the 4Ms (muscle, money, misinformation, and MCC violations) that hinder the path to free and fair elections.
Around 97 crore people are eligible to vote in the upcoming polls. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that voters older than 85 years of age will be allowed to vote from home. He also said that minimum basic facilities like drinking water and toilets will be made available at all polling booths. The tenure of the present Lok Sabha ends on June 16 and a new House will have to be constituted before that. The tenure of the four state assemblies will also end in June.
In the last parliamentary polls, the BJP, seeking a third consecutive term this time, won 303 seats, while the Congress got 52 seats. The upcoming polls are extremely crucial for the Opposition bloc INDIA, fighting to stop the BJP's run.
Here are the Highlights:
#ElectionsWithNDTV | J&K Assembly Polls Soon After Lok Sabha Elections: Poll Commissioner pic.twitter.com/De2Za0jaQ6
- NDTV (@ndtv) March 16, 2024
#WATCH | Delhi: On the declaration of election poll dates, Delhi Minister & AAP leader Gopal Rai says, "Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) welcomes the announcement of general election dates. AAP is well and fully prepared. Together with the INDIA Alliance, we will fight the election with... pic.twitter.com/s9JRXJpjt2
- ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2024
School students may soon automatically get their Voter ID cards once they turn 18. Preparations are on to provide Voters' IDs to Class 12 students once they become eligible to cast their ballot, said the Election Commission of India.
A total of 88.4 lakh people with disabilities have been registered in the electoral roll, the Election Commission said today.
The Chief Election Commissioner today announced dates for the Lok Sabha general elections 2024. The elections across all states and union territories will be held in seven phases, starting from April 19.
Over 48,000 transgenders are eligible to vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said today.
The biggest festival of democracy is here! EC has announced the 2024 Lok Sabha election dates. We, the BJP-NDA, are fully prepared for elections. We are going to the people on the basis of our track record of good governance and service delivery across sectors....
- Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 16, 2024
मैं चुनाव आयोग द्वारा लोक सभा चुनाव 2024 की घोषणा का स्वागत करता हूँ।
- Jagat Prakash Nadda (Modi Ka Parivar) (@JPNadda) March 16, 2024
चुनाव लोकतंत्र का सबसे बड़ा उत्सव है। यह देश और प्रदेश को विकास और सुशासन के पथ पर अग्रसर रखने का माध्यम है।
मैं समग्र राष्ट्र की जनता से रिकॉर्ड संख्या में मतदान करने और दुनिया के सबसे बड़े लोकतंत्र की नींव...
Over 97 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the Lok Sabha elections, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said today and urged everyone to "get inked."
"In democracy, no scope for hiding things. The country now has to also ask and find solutions through an institutional mechanism where donor's privacy is also considered. We have made it mandatory for all political parties to make declarations on contributions received on how much they received and spent annually. This information will be published on Election Commission website. But how do we control undisclosed donations? That something the country has to together work on," he said
The next three months in India will be politically charged as the nation votes for the Lok Sabha elections across seven phases. The voting will start on April 19 and go on till June 1. Counting of votes will be be held on June 4.
"I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent on the Election Commission with Arun Goel. He left because of personal reasons and we must respect that," Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on former Election Commissioner Aru Goel's resignation
India has over 1.8 crore first-time voters in the 18-19 age group who are eligible to vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission of India announced today.
Courts looked into various complaints against EVMs 40 times and rejected all charges every time: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar
Seven phases necessary keeping in mind geographic conditions, festivals, exams and other factors: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Lok Sabha poll schedule.
#ElectionsWithNDTV | Here is the schedule for #LokSabhaElections2024 pic.twitter.com/W045lPsY36
- NDTV (@ndtv) March 16, 2024
The Lok Sabha Polls will begin from April 19 and counting will begin on June 4
The use of money, muscle, misinformation and violation of model code of conduct are among the four big challenges or '4Ms' before the poll body, said the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.
"Money seizures rose by 835% to Rs 3,400 crore in last 11 state polls during 2022-23. We won't allow misuse of money power": Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar
- Social media outreach programs
- Verify before you amplify
- Political parties advised to ensure responsible Social Media behavior
- Fake news to be dealt with severely as per extant laws
- Section 79 (3)(B) of the IT Act empowers nodal officers in each state to remove unlawful content
The daunting challenges in conducting free and fair elections are four-fold, the 4Ms: muscle, money, misinformation, and MCC violations - CEC Rajiv Kumar
- Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) March 16, 2024
ECI is committed and has put in place measures to deal with these disruptive challenges. #Elections2024 pic.twitter.com/iABXMLqB81
🗳️#LokSabhaElection2024 | "Nationwide gender ratio among voters at 948, 12 states have more female than male voters": Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar
- NDTV (@ndtv) March 16, 2024
Follow LIVE presser: https://t.co/hMlRpgak2y #ElectionsWithNDTV pic.twitter.com/JVgR0EqUw4
Women Voters' Participation Increasing In Polls, Says Election Commission
- Drinking Water
- Toilets
- Signage
- Ramp/Wheelchair
- Help Desk
- Voter Facilitation Centre
- Sufficient Light
- 96.8 crore voters
- 49.7 crore male voters
- 47.1 crore women voters
- 1.8 crore first-time voters
- 88.4 lakh persons with disabilities
- 19.1 lakh service electors
- 82 lakh voter are 85+ years old
- 48,000 transgender voters
- 19.74 crore young voters (20-29 year olds)
- 2.18 crore centenarian voters
The Election Commission of India is today set to announce the dates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
#ElectionsWithNDTV | "2024 is the year of election across the world. We are committed to give India a truly festive democratic environment": Rajiv Kumar, Chief Election Commissioner.#ElectionCommission pic.twitter.com/cFR2WyLemC
- NDTV (@ndtv) March 16, 2024
🔴 #ElectionsWithNDTV | Watch LIVE: Election Commission Announces Lok Sabha Election Dates #LokSabhaElection2024 https://t.co/fz9xVWBuZv
- NDTV (@ndtv) March 16, 2024
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar addresses the press conference.
The Election Commission of India will announce the dates for the upcoming general elections shortly.
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is set to return to the Lok Sabha race after a decade.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Gujarat's Gandhinagar.
Senior BJP leader KS Eshwarappa on Friday announced that he will contest as an independent candidate from the Shimoga seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Two new Election Commissioners were inducted, after the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey in February and Arun Goel's surprise resignation last week. Former IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu have been named to the panel.
Dates for the 2024 Lok Sabha election will be announced at 3 pm Saturday, the Election Commission of India said on Friday.