LS POLLS

Lok Sabha elections in 7 phases, Kerala goes to polls on April 26, results on June 4

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases like the 2019 polls, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced here on Saturday. The poll date for the first phase will be on April 19. Kerala will go for voting on April 26. The results of all states and Union Territories will be out on June 4.

The seven-phase election will be held on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 20, May 25 and June 1.

Apart from Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Island, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Lakshadweep, Ladakh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagland, Puducherry, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Telangana and Uttarakhand will complete the polling in a single day. 

The Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar briefed about the arrangements for the polls and said that 97 crore voters will exercise their adult franchise in the Lok Sabha polls. Over 10.5 lakh polling stations manned by 1.5 crore personnel and 55 lakh EVMs will be arranged, he added. This time, the ECI will provide a vote-from-home facility for voters above 85 years and persons with disabilities.

Newly appointed election commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu also attended the press conference. 

Along with the Lok Sabha poll schedule, dates for assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Odisha were also announced. With this, the Model Code of Conduct, as is the established norm, came into immediate effect.

Assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim will be held on April 19, and in Andhra Pradesh on May 13. Elections to Odisha assembly will be held in four phases on May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. Bypolls will also be held for 26 assembly constituencies.

All major political parties including BJP and Congress have already announced their major candidates and started election campaigns for the Lok Sabha polls in various states.

The term of the present Lok Sabha ends on June 16 and a new House has to be constituted before that. The term of the assemblies in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Odisha is coming to an end on various dates in June.

In the last parliamentary polls, the BJP had won 303 seats while the Congress got 52 seats. It could not muster enough numbers to claim the position of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
(With PTI inputs)