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New Delhi: The Union Cabinet has initiated the process of notifying the dates for the seven-phase Lok Sabha 2024 elections, under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
According to two people in the know, the Centre has approved the dates for the general elections, and has forwarded the Election Commission’s recommendations to President Droupadi Murmu.
The first notification is expected around mid-March for the first phase of the election scheduled for 19 April, covering 102 seats. Separate notifications will be issued for each phase of the election.
The nomination process for elections starts after the issuance of notifications, said one of the two people.
News agency ANI reported, citing sources, that the Cabinet has recommended the president to issue statutory notifications for the elections to constitute the 18th Lok Sabha.
Queries sent to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) remained unanswered till press time.
According to the second person quoted above, following the meeting on Sunday morning, the Cabinet recommended the issuance of notifications for the different phases of the Lok Sabha elections.
The EC’s recommendations are first sent to the law ministry. Subsequently, the ministry prepares a note for the Cabinet for approval, and then the recommendations are forwarded to the President.
The notifications provide for calling upon the Parliamentary constituencies to elect members to the house of the people, on the dates recommended by the EC in its proceedings.
The EC on Saturday announced the schedule for the 18th Lok Sabha elections, to be held between 19 April and 1 Jun. The counting of votes will be done on 4 June.
The dates for polling to elect the 543 members to the Lok Sabha are 19 and 26 April, 1, 13, 20, and 25 May, and 1 June. Voting in Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh will take place across all the seven phases.
Additionally, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim will also hold their assembly elections on 19 April, while Andhra Pradesh will elect its Assembly on 13 May. Odisha’s assembly poll will be held in four phases, with voting on 13, 20 and 25 May, and 1 June.
The elections will be the second longest polling exercise in India’s electoral history, since the five-month poll between September 1951 and February 1952.
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Published: 17 Mar 2024, 09:03 PM IST
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