General elections to be held in 7 phases beginning April 19; results on June 4

The Election Commission of India on March 16 announced the dates for upcoming general elections. According to ECI, Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases beginning April 19 and the poll results will be announced on June 4.

As per the ECI announcement, the voting for the first phase of general elections will happen on April 19 across 102 parliamentary constituencies in 21 states i.e. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.

The voting for the second phase of general elections will happen on April across 89 constituencies in 13 states i.e. Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir.

The voting for the third phase of general elections will happen on May 7 across 94 constituencies in 12 states i.e. Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Jammu and Kashmir.

The voting for the fourth phase will happen on May 13 across 96 constituencies in 10 states i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir.

 The voting for fifth phase will happen in May 20 across 49 constituencies in 8 states i.e. Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The voting for the sixth phase will happen on May 25 across 57 parliamentary constituencies in 7 states i.e. Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West  Bengal and the National Capital of Delhi.

The voting for phase 7 will happen on June 1 across 57 constituencies in 8 states i.e. Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Chandigarh.  

 “A gold standard in electoral exercise. The successful conduct of 17 General Elections, 400+ State Elections, 16 Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections is reflective of people's trust in the Commission, its machinery and personnel,” says ECI.

The model code of conduct has come into effect beginning the evening of March 16 and will remain in effect till June 1.