New Delhi, March 16: The Election Commission has announced the dates of Lok Sabha elections 2024 on Saturday. This time the elections will be held in seven phases between April 19 and June 1 and the counting of votes will take place on June 4.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told in the press conference that with the announcement of the election schedule for the formation of the 18th Lok Sabha, the code of conduct has come into force in the country with immediate effect.
The Chief Election Commissioner said that there will be 96.8 crore voters in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 whereas in 2019 there were 90 crore voters. Of these, 49.7 crore are men and 47.1 crore are women. This time there are 1.8 crore new first-time voters who are in the age group of 18 to 19 years.
He said that we are ready to celebrate festival of democracy with 1.5 crore polling officers and 10.5 lakh polling stations. More than 55 lakh EVMs will be used in the elections.
The Election Commission has advised political parties to maintain decorum during campaigning and avoid abuses and personal attacks.
Rajiv Kumar said that many measures have been taken to prevent the undemocratic influence of muscle power in the electoral process. Strict instructions have been given to DMs and SPs to ensure equal opportunity to all candidates. CAPFs will be adequately deployed and assisted by integrated control rooms in each district. Check posts and drones will be used to ensure surveillance.
