The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday announced Lok Sabha Elections 2024 dates. Sounding the poll bugle, the Election Commission of India announced that the Lok Sabha Election 2024 will be divided into 7 phases. Voting for the first phase will start on April 19, 2024. The counting of votes will take place on 4th June 2024.
- Phase 1- April 19, 2024
- Phase 2- 26 April 2024
- Phase 3-7 May 2024
- Phase 4 - 13 May 2024
- Phase 5 - 20 May 2024
- Phase 6 - 25 May 2024
- Phase 7 - 1 June 2024
- Counting on June 4 (Results)
Rajiv Kumar, Chief Election Commissioner of India, during the press conference, stated that there are a total of 96.8 crore electorates out of which 1.8 crore first-time voters (18-19 years), 19. 74 crore young voters (20 to 29 years old), 49.7 crore male, 47.1 crore female, 82 lakhs (85 plus age voters), 48,000 transgender, 88.4 lakhs (PwD), 19.1 lakhs (Service Electors), 2.18 lakhs (Centenarians).
The Lok Sabha Election 2024 is the world's biggest election with 97 crore registered voters all set to choose their representatives in the lower house of the Parliament and ultimately Prime Minister of India. While the BJP lead NDA will look to carry on its winning momentum as Narendra Modi is its leader, the opposition block has united and strengthened its power under the I.N.D.I.A block. While the BJP is fighting with Narendra Modi as the PM face, the opposition block I.N.D.I.A has presented itself as an 'anti-BJP' force with 'no PM face'.
With the General Elections 2024 date announcement, the model code of conduct has also been enforced. The model code of conduct has been implemented by the Election Commission for the need to ensure free and fair elections. Its main purpose is to ensure that ruling parties, at the Centre and in the States, do not misuse their position of advantage to gain an unfair edge. It is designed to avert practices that are deemed corrupt under the model code of conduct. Read MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT IN DETAIL
What happened in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections?
In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, the BJP won 303 seats in the lower house. It was the first time in over three and a half decades that a party managed to cross the 300-seat mark in the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress, which was again the principal opponent, managed to improve its seat tally slightly as it won 52 seats in the general election. Notably, the BJP saw a big surge in its vote share, winning 37.3% of the votes in 2019.
In the previous two Lok Sabha elections, the PM Modi-led BJP put up a dominant performance and reduced its national rival Congress to mere double digits in the lower house. The saffron party had previously completed its full term at the Centre as part of the broader NDA coalition during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee rule in 1999-2004. However, in both 2014 and 2019, BJP managed to secure a majority in the 543-member Lok Sabha on its own.
Current Lok Sabha Total Seats Party-Wise Decoded
NDA Block
- BJP- 290
- JDU-16
- Shivsena- 13
- Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP)- 4
- Apna Dal- 2
- NCP (Ajit Pawar)- 1
- LJP (Ram Vilas)- 1
- National People's Party- 1
- All Jharkhand Students Union- 1
- Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) - 1
- Naga People's Front- 1
- Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM)- 1
- Mizo National Front- 1
Total- 334
I.N.D.I.A Block
- Congress- 49
- DMK- 24
- TMC- 23
- Shivsena (UBT)- 6
- NCP (Sharad Pawar)- 4
- Samajwadi Party- 3
- National Conference- 3
- CPIM- 3
- Indian Union Muslim League (IUML)- 3
- CPI- 2
- Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP)- 1
- Jharkhand Mukti Morcha- 1
- Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK)- 1
- AAP- 1
- Kerala Congress (M)- 1
It is pertinent to mention here that there are 9 more parties of I.N.D.I.A block that does not have any MPs in Lok Sabha. They are- RJD, Apna Dal (K), PDP, Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), KDMK, All India Forward Bloc, Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK), Kerala Congress (Joseph).