Lok Sabha Election 2019 to be held in 7 phases beginning April 11, results to be announced on May 23 | Highlights

Lok Sabha Elections 2019: The Election Commission of India on Sunday announced dates for the crucial Lok Sabha elections 2019. The presser was addressed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora, while Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra were also present.

LOK SABHA ELECTIONS 2019 DATES, ELECTION COMMISSION PRESS CONFERENCE: HIGHLIGHTS

8:15 pm: Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Polling to be held in West Bengal in seven phases on 11th April, 18th April, 23rd April, 29th April, 6th May, 12th May and 19th May.

8:05 pm: Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Polling to be held in Uttar Pradesh in seven phases on 11th April, 18th April, 23rd April, 29th April, 6th May, 12th May and 19th May.

8:00 pm: Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Polling to be held in #Rajasthan in two phases on 29th April and 6th May.

7:50 pm: Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Polling to be held in Manipur in two phases on 11th April and 18th April, and polling to be conducting in Odisha in four phases on 11th April, 18th April, 23rd April and 29th April.

7:45 pm: Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Polling to be conducted in 7 Parliamentary Constituencies of National Capital Territory of Delhi in single phase on 12th May.

7:25 pm: Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Polling to be held in Jammu and Kashmir in five phases on 11th April, 18th April, 23rd April, 29th April and 6th May.

7:20 pm: Lok Sabha Elections 2019 to be held in Karnataka in two phases on 18th and 23rd April, and in Andhra Pradesh polls to be conducted in single phase on 11th April. 

7:15 pm: Lok Sabha Elections 2019 to be held in Assam in three phases on 11th, 18th and 23rd April, and in Bihar, polls to be conducted in seven phases on 11 April, 18 April, 23 April, 29 April, 6 May, 12 May and 19 May.

7:13 pm: Lok Sabha Elections 2019 to be held in Chhattisgarh in three phases on 11th, 18th and 23rd April, and in #Jharkhand, polls to be conducted in four phases on 29 April, 6 May, 12 May and 19 May.

7:11 pm: Former PM and JD(S) leader HD Deve Gowda: Lok Sabha polling to be held in Karnataka in two phases on 18 and 23 April. The finalisation on seat-sharing by Congress and JD(S) not yet settled. But after the notification, I think Rahul Gandhi will finalise within 2-3 days.

7:10 pm: Lok Sabha Elections 2019 to be held in Karnataka in two phases on 18th and 23rd April, and in Andhra Pradesh polls to be conducted in single phase on 11th April.

7:05 pm: "The bugle is blown and now it is the turn of the public. There is adequate preparation for fighting the lies. We will defeat the 'liars' in this government, we are prepared and victory will be ours," the Congress posted in Hindi on its Twitter handle. The party used the hashtag "JeetHogiSachKi" with its tweet. ​ 

7:04 pm: It said the party was ready for the battle and also claimed the victory of the truth for the UPA in 2019.

7:00 pm: Congress put out a two-minute video entitled 'aarambh hai prachand' (the beginning of something massive), showing party chief Rahul Gandhi meeting the people across the country.
 

6:42 pm: Commission has also directed political parties/candidates to desist from using environmentally hazardous publicity material&promote usage of eco friendly substances for preparation of election campaign material, this is a kind of appeal to everybody, says Sunil Arora

6:40 pm: More than 900 million voters in India to exercise universal adult suffrage in world's biggest election. Click here to know in detail

6:27 pm: Read Full Story to know in detail about Election Commission's announcement on Jammu and Kashmir. Click Here

6:20 pm: Read Full Story to know in detail about Model Code of Conduct - Click Here

6:11 pm: We have tried to cover left-wing affected areas of various states at one go (in Lok Sabha Elections 2019). Once the left-wing affected states get covered which require much more force, then those forces can move to other areas: Sunil Arora, Chief Election Commissioner

6:06 pm: Wishing all political parties and candidates the very best for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. We may belong to different parties but our aim must be the same- the development of India and empowerment of every Indian!: PM Modi

6:05 pm: In 2014, the people comprehensively rejected the UPA. There was unprecedented anger over the UPA’s corruption, nepotism and policy paralysis. India’s self-confidence was at an all-time low and the people of India wanted to rid the nation of such decay and pessimism.

6:00 pm: Best wishes to the Election Commission, all those officials and security personnel who will be on the field, across the length and breadth of India assuring smooth elections. India is very proud of the EC for assiduously organising elections for several years: PM Modi

5:59 pm: Based on input, constraint of availability of central forces&other logistics, requirement of forces for security of candidates in wake of recent violence & keeping other challenges in mind EC has decided at this stage to announce only schedule of Parliament election in J&K, says CEC

5:58 pm: Elections to Legislative Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Odisha to be held simultaneously with the general elections to the Lok Sabha.

5:57 pm: Anantnag Lok Sabha seat in J and K to go for polling in three phases due to security reasons, says EC

5:55 pm: Jammu and Kashmir will not be voting for state Assembly for now in view of security situation, says Sunil Arora, Chief Election Commissioner

5:48 pm: Jharkhand, MP, Maharashtra, Odisha to have four-phase polls: Sunil Arora, Chief Election Commissioner

5:45 pm: Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to have seven-phase polls: Sunil Arora, Chief Election Commissioner

5:42 pm: LS Polls- Phase1 in 91 constituencies in 20 states, Phase2 in 97 constituencies in 13 states, Phase 3 in 115 constituencies in 14 states, Phase 4 in 71 constituencies in 9 states, Phase5 in 51 constituencies in 7 states, Phase 6 in 59 constituencies in 7 states & Phase7 in 59 constituencies in 8 states 

5:38 pm: States going in single phase - Andhra , Arunachal, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Sikkim, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Andaman Nicobar, Delhi, Nagaland, Daman and Diu, Pondicherry: CEC Sunil Arora 

5:35 pm: Rest of the phases respectively on April 18, April 23, April 29, May6, May 12. May 19 

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5:31 pm: Date of counting 23rd May

5:29 pm: Phase I polling to be held on April 11

5:28 pm: Seven phases of election this time, says CEC

5:27 pm: Will send special observers to places that are expenditure-sensitive & law-sensitive, says CEC Sunil Arora 

5:26 pm: New Android app to help citizens report model code of conduct violations, major tool for citizen empowerment: CEC Sunil Arora

5:25 pm: Due to complaints regarding security of EVMs, last mile transportation of these machines will be tracked through GPS now, says Sunil Arora

5:24 pm: Candidates’ photograph will be on EVMs this time, says Sunil Arora

5:22 pm: Voting slip to be given 5 days before the voting day in constituencies, says Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora

5:20 pm: Extensive webcasting of sensitive voting booths, all critical events will be videographed, says Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora  

5:19 pm: No loudspeaker to be allowed between 10 pm to 6 am during the campaign period to curb noise pollution: CEC Sunil Arora

5:18 pm: 10 per cent more voting booths this time, VVPATS in all of them, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora says.

5:17 pm: Strictest action will be taken against violations of model code of conduct, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora says.

5:16 pm: There are 10 Lakh polling stations as compared to 9 Lakh in 2014: Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora 

5:14 pm: 900 million people are eligible to vote this time compared to 814 million in 2014, says Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora 

5:12 pm: VVPATs along with EVMs to be used in these elections, says CEC Sunil Arora

5:10 pm: EC factored in examination dates, festivals, harvest season as well as weather inputs while deciding election schedule, says CEC Sunil Arora

5:08 pm: We visited 7 states and UTs to assess poll preparedness. This includes interactions with political parties, Chief Electoral Officer, police officials among others, says Sunil Aora

5:06 pm: India’s elections are an example for the world, a beacon of democracy, says Sunil Arora

5:04 pm: Extensive meetings and preparation discussions have taken place. Several rounds of meetings took place with officials of home ministry for security preparedness, says Sunil Arora

5:01 pm: 2019 Lok Sabha elections will be free and fair, says Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora

5:00 pm: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora begins addressing the press conference Live. 

4:59 pm: Election Commission will begin its press conference on Lok Sabha poll schedule shortly

4:55 pm: The Election Commission press conference will be addressed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora, Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra. 

4:47 pm: ​In 2014, the EC had announced the election schedule on March 5 and the nine-phase electoral exercise was spread across April and May. While the first phase polling was on April 7, the last phase was on May 12.

4:42 pm: The required electronic voting machines and paper trail machines are in place to be deployed in nearly 10 lakh poling stations across 543 Lok Sabha constituencies.

4:35 pm: The other state assemblies and Lok Sabha have five-year terms.

4:33 pm: The J-K assembly's six-year term was to end on March 16, 2021, but it got dissolved after a ruling coalition between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell apart.

4:20 pm: The Centre and the state administration, being managed by the Centre-appointed Governor, are against holding the two elections together. However, all political parties in the state favoured simultaneous polls during a meeting with the Election Commission earlier this week

4:17 pm: While there is a view that the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections can be held along with the Lok Sabha polls, a lot depends on the complex security situation in the state given the heightened tension along the India-Pakistan border.

4:11 pm: Since the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly has been dissolved, the EC is bound to hold fresh polls there as well within a six-month period, which will end in May.

4:09 pm: There is a strong possibility that the Election Commission may go by the precedent and hold assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh along with the Lok Sabha polls. 

4:00 pm: According to sources, the Lok Sabha elections are likely to be spread over 7-8 phases in April-May. 

The term of the present Lok Sabha ends on June 3.

As soon as the elections, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make his bid to return to power amid hectic parleys by several political parties to put a united fight against the ruling BJP, are announced, the model code of conduct will come into force. Amongst other things, the code bars the government from announcing policy decisions. 

Notification for the first phase could be issued by the end of March for voting some time in early April, sources suggested.

Watch Full Press conference by EC: