New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday announced the full schedule for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 which will be held in seven phases.
Along with Lok Sabha elections, Assembly polls will also be held in Odisha as well as Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. The counting of votes will be conducted on June 4.
With the announcement of the election schedule, the model code of conduct has come into effect across the country.
The announcement from the EC comes as the term of the current Lok Sabha will end on June 16 and a new House has to be constituted before the mentioned date, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar told reporters.
The Lok Sabha polls will be conducted in 7 phases across the country. The polling will be conducted on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.
The Assembly elections in Odisha will be held in four phases. The polling will be held on May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1 along with Lok Sabha polls in 4th to 7th phase.
Polling will be held for 28 assembly constituencies on May 13, while voting will be conducted for 35 assembly constituencies on May 20. Similarly, voting for 42 assembly segments will be held on May 25 and for the remaining 24 assembly seats in the last phase on June 1, the CEC informed.
Stating that there are nearly 97 crore voters this time, Kumar said the country has 49.7 crore male and 47.1 crore female voters. Around 1.8 crore first-time voters will exercise their franchise in 2024 elections.
Each and every polling station in the country will have drinking water and toilet facility. Besides, there will be special facilities differently-abled voters.
The CEC said that the Election Commission is working towards combating the 4Ms (muscle, money, misinformation, and MCC violations) that hinder the path to free and fair elections.
Stating that there is no place for violence, he said the Commission will take action against any instance of violence. “There is no place for bloodbath and violence in the elections. From wherever we will receive the information of violence, we will take action against them.”, CEC said.