Lok Sabha polls to be held in 7 phases
Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19.
The first phase of general elections will be held on the 11th of next month, the second phase on 18th April, and third on 23rd April.
The fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections will be held on 29th of April, fifth phase on 6th of May, sixth phase on 12th of May.
19th May is the date for the 7th and last phase of polling. The counting will be held on 23rd of May.
The Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh will also be held simultaneously.
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora announced the poll schedule in New Delhi on Sunday evening.
Karnataka, Manipur, Rajasthan, Tripura will go to polls in two phases. States undergoing three phases are Assam and Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha will have four phase polling.
Jammu and Kashmir will have five phases and West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh will have seven phases.
Twenty-two states and Union Territories will have single phase elections. These are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Delhi, Puducherry, Chandigarh, and Uttarakhand.In the first phase, 91 Parliamentary constituencies in 20 states will go to polls whereas in the 2nd phase, 97 Parliamentary constituencies in 13 states will go to polls.
115 constituencies in 14 states will go to polls in the third phase and 71 constituencies in 9 states will go to polls in 4th phase. In the 5th phase, 51 constituencies in seven states will go to polls whereas 59 seats in 7 states will go to polls in sixth phase.
In the last phase, 59 constituencies in 8 states will go to polls.The Chief Election Commissioner said simultaneous assembly elections will not be held in Jammu and Kashmir. He informed that EC has decided to appoint three special observers for the state for effective monitoring.
The Chief Election Commissioner said the decision has been taken based on the input, constraint of availability of central forces and other logistics, requirement of forces for the security of candidates in wake of recent violence and other challenges.
The Model Code of Conduct has come into force in the entire country with the announcement of the poll schedule.
The Chief Election Commissioner said assessment meetings with states and Union Territories were held in January.
He said extensive preparations have been made for the 17th Lok Sabha polls.