Reported & Written By Kumud Sharma, Diary Times, New Delhi, March 16: The Lok Sabha election schedule has been announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday. With this, the Model Code of Conduct has come into effect in the country with immediate effect. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar told the press conference that the elections for the formation of the 18th Lok Sabha will be held in seven phases. He told that after voting for the Lok Sabha elections (2024 Indian general election), counting of votes will take place on June 4.
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He said that Assembly posts are lying vacant in some states, hence the Commission has decided to hold elections for 26 Assembly seats along with the Lok Sabha. Along with this, elections in Sikkim, Orissa and Arunachal Pradesh will also be held along with the Lok Sabha.
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He said that the first phase of voting will be held on April 19. The second phase of voting will be held on April 26. Voting will be held in the third phase on May 7. The fourth phase of voting will be held on May 13. The fifth phase of voting will be held on May 20. The sixth phase of voting is scheduled to take place on May 26. Voting will be held in the seventh and final phase on June 1.
He told that 1.82 crore voters will cast their vote for the first time. Chief Election Commissioner said that 19.7 crore voters aged 20 to 29 years. Of the total voters, the number of male voters is 49.7 crore, the number of female voters is 47.1 crore. He said that till now 17 Lok Sabha elections have been conducted by the Commission, while 400 Assembly elections have been conducted. He said that 12d forms will be available to cast vote from home.
He said that e-books can also be used. He said that concrete steps have been taken to stop money game and muscle power. He had stopped the use of Rs 3400 crore in 11 states. The Chief Election Commissioner said that the Commission is serious about muscle, money and misinformation.
He said that an advisory has been issued collecting in one place the violations of the code of conduct in the last five years of elections. He informed that 2100 observers have been deployed. He also gave strict instructions to the employees on duty. He also asked political parties to refrain from personal comments.
Read More: Himachal News: Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu Gave A Gift Of Rs 445 Crore To Four Assembly Constituencies Of Bilaspur.
Let us tell you that the Commission had made it clear on Friday itself that the election schedule would be released on March 16. It is noteworthy that just a few hours before the implementation of the Election Code of Conduct, two newly appointed Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu had started their innings.
Voting will be held on 543 Lok Sabha seats in the country. If the President feels that the community is not adequately represented, two seats are filled by nomination of representatives of the Anglo-Indian community.
With the implementation of the Election Code of Conduct, the government will not be able to take any policy decision that can influence the ‘decision’ of the voters. A target has been set to complete the election process in a timely manner. According to the Election Commission, with approximately 96.88 crore voters, 10.5 lakh polling stations and 1.5 crore election officials, the Indian general election 2024 is the world’s largest voter awareness campaign.
What was the program of 2019 –
This time the election code of conduct has been delayed by 6 days as compared to the 17th Lok Sabha elections, the schedule for the last election was released on March 10. In the first phase in 2019, voting was held on April 11 for 91 Lok Sabha seats in 20 states. After this, in the second phase on 97 Lok Sabha seats of 13 states on April 18, in the third phase on 115 seats of 14 states on April 23, in the fourth phase on 71 Lok Sabha seats of nine states on April 29, in the fifth phase on 51 seats of seven states. On May 6, voting was held on 59 seats in seven states in the sixth phase on May 12 and in the seventh phase on 59 seats in eight states on May 19.
What is the model code of conduct –
Model code of conduct is a set of standards to guide political parties and candidates, it is prepared with the consent of political parties. The role of the Election Commission is important in the Model Code of Conduct. Under Article 324 of the Constitution, it is the statutory duty of the Election Commission to organize free, fair and peaceful elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures. It comes into force from the date of announcement of election dates by the Election Commission and remains in force till the completion of the election process. During Lok Sabha elections, the Model Code of Conduct applies to the entire country, while during Assembly elections, it applies to the entire state.
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