Lok Sabha polls: EC announces 7-phase election from April 11, counting day on May 23

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The Election Commission of India (EC) on March 10 announced schedule for the general elections to constitute the 17th Lok Sabha.

The election will be held in seven phases. Counting of votes will be held on May 23.

The announcement was made by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora at the Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The term of the present Lok Sabha ends on June 3. The election, to be conducted in April-May, is being pegged as the largest election exercise in history.

The poll panel also announced Legislative Assembly election schedule for the states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim. The two polls -- Lok Sabha and Assembly -- will happen simultaneous in these states.

With this announcement, the model code of conduct was imposed across the nation with immediate effect. Amongst other things, the code of conduct bars the government from announcing policy decisions.

Lok Sabha polls

The EC announced that the Lok Sabha polls will be conducted across the country in seven phases.

Phase 1 voting: April 11 (91 constituencies in 20 states)
Phase 2 voting: April 18 (97 constituencies in 13 states)
Phase 3 voting: April 23 (115 constituencies in 14 states)
Phase 4 voting: April 29 (71 constituencies in 9 states)
Phase 5 voting: May 06 (51 constituencies in 7 states)
Phase 6 voting: May 12 (59 constituencies in 7 states)
Phase 7 voting: May 19 (59 constituencies in 8 states)

Single phase Lok Sabha polls will be held in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Delhi, Puducherry and Chandigarh.

Karnataka, Manipur, Rajasthan and Tripura will see two-phase voting while Assam and Chhattisgarh will have polling in three-phases.

Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha will head for polls in four-phases.

Voting for the Lok Sabha in Jammu and Kashmir will happen in five-phases. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar will head for polls in seven phases.

Simultaneous Assembly polls, bypolls

In Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim voting for the state Assembly and the Lok Sabha seats will happen simultaneously. Counting of votes at the state level will also happen on May 23.

Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will not be held simultaneous to the general election due to security concerns, Arora announced.

All pending by-elections will also be held simultaneous to the Lok Sabha elections. This includes bypolls in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.

The CEC said that the total electorate would be around 900 million, up from 814.5 million in 2014. As many as 15 million voters belong to the 18-19 age bracket.

There will be approximately 10 lakh polling stations, up from 9 lakh in 2014. Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs) will be used with all Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) at all polling stations, CEC Arora announced.

The poll panel also announced that photograph of candidates will be added to the EVMs "so that voters can make a conscious choice."

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and other central forces will be deployed to provide security during polling across the country, CEC Arora said.

The poll panel said it has taken steps to monitor all polling stations using advanced technology.

The 2014 Lok Sabha polls were held in nine phases stretching from April 9 to May 12. The counting day in 2014 was May 16. Andhra Pradesh (including then Telangana region), Odisha and Sikkim had seen simultaneous Assembly polls. Around 81.4 crore voters, almost 10 crore more than the 2009 general elections, were eligible to cast their votes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners are making a bid to retain power amid efforts by Opposition several parties, including the Congress, to put a united fight.