7-PHASE LS POLLS FROM APRIL 19; RESULTS ON JUNE 4
Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases beginning from April 19 and the counting of votes will take place on June 4 for the world’s biggest election exercise in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will bid for a third consecutive term.
The other phases will be on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said at a press conference on Saturday.
Assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim will be held on April 19, and in Andhra Pradesh on May 13. Elections to Odisha assembly will be held in four phases on May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. Bypolls will also be held for 26 assembly constituencies, Kumar said at a press conference flanked by two new Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu. Polling will be held in all seven phases in three states – Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
In the first phase on April 19, voting will take place in 102 constituencies spread over 21 states/UTs, with 10 states/UTs completing the poll process in this phase.
Voting will take place in 89 constituencies across 13 states/UTs in the second phase on April 26, Kumar said, adding that the poll process would be completed in four more states/UTs.
In the third phase on May 7, voting will take place in 94 constituencies spread across 12 states/UTs. With this, polling will be completed in six more states/UTs.
In the fourth phase on May 13, 96 constituencies spread across 10 states UTs would vote. With this, three more states/UTs would have completed voting. As many as 49 constituencies spread across eight states/UTs will vote in phase five on May 20. This phase will see voting completed in three more states/UTs.
In the sixth phase on May 25, voting will take place in 57 constituencies spread across seven states/UTs. Polling in two more states/UTs would be completed with this phase.
The seventh and final phase will take place on June 1 in 57 constituencies spread across eight states/UTs. The polling process in eight states/UTs would be completed.
Led by Prime Minister Modi, a buoyed BJP, which swept the November assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, will take on the opposition parties which have been trying to put up a joint front under the umbrella of the INDIA bloc, with limited success confined to some states.
The CEC said the poll authority is prepared to counter the challenges of four M’s muscle power, money power, misinformation and Model Code of Conduct violations.
“I would appeal to parties to maintain decorum during the campaign and refrain from personal attacks,” Kumar said.
The CEC said children should not be used in campaigning and the poll watchdog will be very strict on that account. He also said advertisements masquerading as news will not be allowed.
where the incumbent MLAs quit their seats to join the BJP, will be held on May 7.
Gujarat Congress MLAs C J Chavda (Vijapur), Chirag Patel (Khambhat), Arvind Ladani (Manavadar), Arjun Modhwadia (Porbandar) and Independent legislator Dharmendrasinh Vaghela (Vaghodia) quit their respective seats to join the BJP.
Bypoll for the Karnal seat in Haryana, vacated by former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, will be held on May 25. Khattar resigned as MLA on March 14 and the new legislator will get a term of about seven months.
The bypoll for the Agiaon assembly seat in Bihar, Duddhi in Uttar Pradesh and Baranagar in West Bengal will be held on June 1.
The Agiaon seat fell vacant after the disqualification of CPI (M-L) legislator Manoj Manji, who was found guilty in a nine-year-old murder case and sentenced to life imprisonment. Trinamool Congress MLA from Baranagar, Tapas Roy, resigned to join the BJP. BJP MLA from Duddhi, Ram Dular, was disqualified after his conviction in a rape case.
The bypoll for the Gainsari assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh, which fell vacant after the death of SP MLA Shiv Pratap Yadav, will be held on May 25.
The bypoll for the Gandey seat in Jharkhand and Lucknow East in Uttar Pradesh will be held on May 20. The Gandey seat fell vacant after the resignation of JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmed, while the Lucknow East seat fell vacant due to the death of BJP MLA Ashutosh Tandon.
The bypoll for the Dadraul assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh and Secunderabad Cantt seat in Telangana will be held on May 13. These seats fell vacant due to the deaths of BJP MLA Manavendra Singh (Dadraul)and BRS MLA Lasya Nanditha Sayanna (Secunderabad Cantt).
The bypolls in Shorapur in Karnataka and Bhagwangola in West Bengal will be held on May 7. The Shorapur seat fell vacant due to the death of Congress MLA Raja Venkatappa Naik, while the Bhagwangola seat fell vacant due to the death of Trinamool MLA Idris Ali.
The Bagidora seat in Rajasthan and Akola West in Maharashtra will go to polls on April 26. The Bagidora seat fell vacant due to the resignation of Congress MLA Mahendra Jeet Singh Malviya, who joined the BJP.
The Akola West seat fell vacant due to the death of BJP MLA Govardhan Mangilal Sharma.
The Ramnagar seat in Tripura, which fell vacant due to the death of BJP MLA Surajit Datta, will go to polls on April 19.
The bypoll for the Vilavancode seat in Tamil Nadu, which fell vacant due to the resignation of Congress MLA S Vidyadharini, will also be held on April 19.
