Lok Sabha Election 2019 Dates, Schedule Highlights: TMC claims Centre misled EC, Opposition welcomes seven-phase polls

The Election Commission has made it compulsory for candidates contesting polls to advertise their criminal antecedents in TV and newspapers at least three times during electioneering.

Though directions in this regard were issued on October 10, 2018, the rule will be used for the first time in this Lok Sabha election, scheduled to be held from April 11 to May 19. The results will be announced on May 23. READ MORE

The ruling AAP in Delhi launched its mega campaign for Lok Sabha polls, with full statehood as its central theme, staging a protest near BJP headquarters here over the issue on Sunday.

AAP volunteers and its frontal organisations protested near BJP headquarters on the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, demanding the party to clear its stand on full statehood to Delhi. READ MORE

Polls for 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh will be held in four phases during April 29-May 19 period, state chief electoral officer (CEO) V L Kanta Rao announced Sunday. The elections will be held in Madhya Pradesh on April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19.

In the first phase, six seats -- Sidhi, Shahdol, Jabalpur, Mandla, Balaghat and Chhindwara -- will go to polls on April 29. In the second phase, seven seats -- Tikamgarh, Damoh, Satna, Hoshangabad, Betul, Khajuraho and Rewa -- will go to polls on May 6. In the third phase, eight seats -- Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Guna, Bhopal, Sagar, Vidisha and Rajgarh -- will go to polls on May 12. In the final phase on May 19, eight seats -- Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Indore, Dhar, Khargone and Khandwa -- will go to polls.

A bypoll to Chhindwara assembly constituency will be held on April 29.

The opposition parties in Bengal, however, welcomed the seven-phase polls saying it reflects the "deteriorating" law and order situation under TMC rule. CPI(M) politburo member Mohammed Salim said, "The seven-phase election reflects the law and order situation in the state... how people were stopped from exercising their democratic rights." He was referring to the violence that took place during the panchayat polls in the state last year.

The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal took exception to the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls and alleged the central government had "misled" the Election Commission about the law and order situation in the state. "The central government has intentionally misled the Election Commission with wrong inputs about the law and order situation in the state," senior TMC leader and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim said. Such a prolonged polling process will put a lot of pressure on the people because of the month of Ramzan and the summer in April and May, he added.

Lok Sabha polls will be held in four phases in Maharashtra starting from the Vidarbha region on April 11, a top official said. At 48, Maharashtra sends the second largest number of MPs to Lok Sabha, after Uttar Pradesh which has total 80 constituencies. The total number of voters in Maharashtra, as on January 25, stood at 8,73,30,484 as against 8,07,98,823 in 2014.

Actor-politician Vijaykant's DMDK joins AIADMK-led alliance, gets four Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu, PTI reported.

Soon after the dates were announced, the Congress hit out at the Modi government saying it will be best remembered for "wasting" its historic mandate and that all its promises remained "unfulfilled". Party leader Ahmed Patel, in a series of tweets, said the 2019 elections will herald a new era ending five years of "chaotic, despotic and destructive" dispensation and the country will return to the path of "sobriety, integrity and inclusivity". "NDA 2 will be best remembered for wasting its historic mandate in the pursuit of petty benefits for a handful of individuals, by imposing a heavy cost on the entire nation For 5 years India waited, but Acche Din never came (sic)," he tweeted.

Over 4.47 crore electors are eligible to cast their votes for 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, elections to which will be held on April 23, state Chief Electoral Officer S Murali Krishna announced today. Notification for the election will be issued on March 28 and candidates can fill nomination forms between March 28 and April 4, he added. Scrutiny of nomination forms will be held on April 5, and candidates can withdraw their nomination forms by April 8, he said, adding that the model of conduct had now come into force. "There are around 4.47 crore voters in the state. Votes will be cast across 51,709 booths. Of these 4,47,464,179 voters, 2,32,56,688 are men and 2,14,88,437 women," the CEO said.

The Election Commission today said ‘voter-verifiable paper audit trail’ (VVPAT) will be used in all polling stations this time along with electronic voting machines. In order to facilitate the electors in identifying the candidates, photographs of politicians will be used on EVM ballot paper. “This will help avoid any confusion, which may arise when candidates with same or similar names contest from the same constituency. For this purpose, the candidates are required to submit to the Returning Officer, their recent stamp size photograph as per the specifications laid down by the Commission,” CEC Arora said. Click here to know more.

LS polls in Assam @IndianExpress

April 11: Phase 1: Tezpur, Kaliabor, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur

April 18: Phase 2: Karimganj, Silchar, Autonomous District, Mangaldoi, Nagaon

April 23: Phase 3: Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Barpeta and Guwahati

— Abhishek Saha (@saha_abhi1990) March 10, 2019

Over seven lakh electors would be eligible to vote on April 11 in Mizoram, the state's CEO Ashish Kundra said. Of the 7,84,405 eligible voters, 51 per cent are women, Kundra said. Noting that the state election department was fully prepared to conduct the elections, the CEO said that expenditure for the coming polls would be at least 15 per cent less compared to the state assembly polls held on November 28 last. Deployment of central armed police force would also be "immensely reduced" during the elections, he said.

Elections to the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi will be held on May 12. According to the final electoral roll published on January 18 by the Chief Electoral Officer, there are over 1.36 crore voters in Delhi. After the EC's announcement today, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, "Ultimately back to 'We the people' -- the real power of our democracy. Time to throw out the most dictatorial and anti-federal govt in the history of India. Time to seek answers on demonetisation, jobs, destruction of traders and destroying brotherhood amongst different communities."

Ultimately back to We the people -the real power of our democracy. Time to throw out the most dictatorial and anti-federal govt in the history of India. Time to seek answers on demonetisation, jobs, destruction of traders n destroying brotherhood amongst different communities

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 10, 2019

The announcement of dates for the Lok Sabha Elections Sunday witnessed an array of political leaders tweeting their reactions. Welcoming the announcements of polling dates, BJP president Amit Shah claimed that Modi government has ‘dared to take bold and futuristic decisions for the welfare of 130 crore Indians’. Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati took to Twitter to criticise the ‘anti-poor and pro-capitalist Modi government’ and maintained that the new government, after the elections must function in a constitutional manner. Read full story here.

During his address to the media, CEC Arora had said that a large contingent of security forces are required to ensure the protection of every J&K candidate. "This was a categorical demand from all political parties there. The availability of security forces is a constraint," he said.

Q: If EC can hold LS poll in J&K, then why not state elections?

A: We need large no. of security personnel to be deployed for protection of every candidate. This was a categorical demand from all pol parties there. Availability of security forces is a constraint@IndianExpress

— Ritika Chopra (@KhurafatiChopra) March 10, 2019

Describing the poll panel’s decision to not hold assembly elections in the state as “surrender to Pakistan, to militants and to the Hurriyat”, Omar Abdullah said, "In light of the failure to conduct assembly elections on time in J&K I’m retweeting my tweets from a few days ago." He added, “PM Modi has surrendered to Pakistan, to the militants & to the Hurriyat. Well done Modi Sahib. 56-inch chest failed. #slowclap." Read full story here.

When asked if the Ministry of Home Affairs had not agreed to the EC's demands for security forces for J&K polls, Arora said, "The availability of central forces is definitely not an issue. You cannot disregard recent events. The EC cannot be non-cognisant of the situation on the ground and the feedback of the state administration."

Upset with the EC's decision to not hold bypolls in J&K simultaneously, former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah said, "What happened to Rajnath Singh’s assurance to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as well as to the all-party meeting recently in Delhi that all forces would be made available for simultaneous polls?"

What happened to @rajnathsingh’s assurance to Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha as well as to the all party meeting recently in Delhi that all forces would be made available for simultaneous polls?

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) March 10, 2019

Urging citizens to give yet another term to the Modi government, the PM said, "Guided by ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’, NDA seeks your blessings again. We spent the last five years fulfilling basic necessities that were left unfulfilled for 70 long years. Now, the time has come to build on that and create a strong, prosperous and secure India. #PhirEkBaarModiSarkar." 

Guided by ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’, NDA seeks your blessings again.
We spent the last five years fulfilling basic necessities that were left unfulfilled for 70 long years. Now, time has come to build on that and create a strong, prosperous & secure India. #PhirEkBaarModiSarkar

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 10, 2019

"Polling in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag Lok Sabha seat will be held in three phases due to security reasons," the Election Commission announced.

The festival of democracy, Elections are here.

I urge my fellow Indians to enrich the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with their active participation. I hope this election witnesses a historic turnout.

I particularly call upon first time voters to vote in record numbers.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 10, 2019

Best wishes to the Election Commission, all those officials and security personnel who will be on the field, across the length and breadth of India assuring smooth elections. India is very proud of the EC for assiduously organising elections for several years.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 10, 2019

Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal, Odisha and Sikkim will be held with Lok Sabha polls, the poll panel head announced.

BREAKING: J&K (Assembly) will NOT go to poll with Lok Sabha elections. EC cites security grounds for decision. @IndianExpress

— Ritika Chopra (@KhurafatiChopra) March 10, 2019

"Ninety-one constituencies will go for polls in the first phase of polls, 97 constituencies in the second phase. A total of 115 constituencies will go for polls in the third phase, 71 in the fourth phase, 51 in the fifth phase, 59 in the sixth and 59 in the seventh phase," Arora said.

Two phases: Karnataka, Manipur, Rajasthan, Tripura

Three phases: Assam, Chhattisgarh

Four phases: Jharkhand, MP, Maharashtra Odisha

Five phases: J&K

Six phases: No state

Seven phases: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal

"Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Andaman and Nicobar, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, New Delhi, Pondicherry and Chandigarh will go for a single phase," Arora said.

The following are the dates for the seven phases:

Phase 1: April 11
Phase 2: April 18
Phase 3: April 23
Phase 4: April 29
Phase 5: May 6
Phase 6: May 12
Phase 7: May 19

Speaking on the election schedule, CEC Sunil Arora said, "Elections will be held in seven phases. Counting of votes will take place on May 23." 

Model code of conduct comes into effect from today, says CEC

As a "major tool of empowerment", the Election Commission has decided to protect the identity of those who wish to lodge complaints of malpractices across booths. "We will publish the measures/actions taken against the accused in local newspapers for the complainant instead. Any citizen can report Model Code of Conduct violations on EC's C-VIGIL app. In the last five Assembly polls, 28,000 such complaints were received," Arora said.

"Adequate deployment of security forces has been arranged. We cannot provide numbers and more information on this since the information is sensitive," the poll panel head said.

All candidates will have to complete Form 26 (affidavit) to be submitted with nomination papers. Incomplete Form 26 will lead to rejection of nomination @IndianExpress

— Ritika Chopra (@KhurafatiChopra) March 10, 2019

"In the wake of complaints regarding the security of EVMs, the last mile transportation of these machines will be tracked through GPS," Arora said.

"Voter-verifiable paper audit trails (VVPATs) will be used along with electronic voting machines (EVMs) in all the booths. A total of 17.4 lakh VVPAT units will be used," Arora said.

Continuing his address, the CEC said, "Photo voter slips cannot be used as standalone proof of identity at the time of casting vote. Instructions of this effect have been issued already by EC. Approximately, 10 lakh polling stations will be set up this time as opposed to the nine lakh polling stations that were set up in 2014."

"There are 900 million voters in total. Exams, festivals and weather were taken into account while preparing the schedule. Several rounds of discussions were also held with the Home Ministry. We also visited states to review the level of preparedness," Arora said.

Addressing reporters, CEC Sunil Arora said, "We had a discussion with the chief ministers of states and all the Union Territories. We also held talks with several key departments to ensure smooth conduction of polls." 

Election Commission officials have arrived at the venue and have begun addressing the media.

With the announcement of dates, the Model Code of Conduct will immediately take effect. The code lays down a list of dos and don’ts for the political parties ahead of elections. Amongst other things, the code bars the government from announcing policy decisions. Click here to know more.

Taking to Twitter, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said, "Is the Election Commission run by the BJP? In 2014, the poll dates were announced on March 5. In five days, PM Modi had concluded his campaign. Today, after his public address in Ghaziabad, the poll panel has decided to announce the dates for this year's elections." 

???? ????? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ??????? ???? ???2014 ??? 5 ????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ???,5 ???? ??? ???? ?? ?? ?? ????, ??? ?? ????, ?? ??????????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?? ?????,???? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ?? ?? ??? ??? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ???????? ? ????

— Sanjay Singh AAP (@SanjayAzadSln) March 10, 2019

Ending speculation about Sonia Gandhi’s retirement from politics, the Congress on Thursday announced that she would contest from Rae Bareli, while party chief Rahul Gandhi would seek re-election from Amethi. The party announced its first list of 15 Lok Sabha candidates — 11 from Uttar Pradesh and four from Gujarat — after a meeting of its central election committee. READ MORE 

This Lok Sabha election, the youth may hold the key in as many as 282 seats across 29 states, where there could be more first-time voters than their respective winning margins in 2014, an analysis of Election Commission (EC) data by The Indian Express has revealed.

These voters — born between 1997 and 2001 — were not eligible to vote in the last general elections. In fact, there will be an estimated average of 1.49 lakh first-time eligible voters in each Lok Sabha constituency and this figure is larger than the winning margin in 297 seats in 2014. Some of these voters may have got an opportunity to vote during the Assembly elections since 2014, but this will be their first Lok Sabha election. READ MORE

Noting that political parties have been using photographs of defence personnel in advertisements, the Election Commission (EC) Saturday asked them to desist from making references to the armed forces in their political campaign.

Just days before the announcement of Lok Sabha elections, the EC reiterated its instructions of 2013 on armed forces, which comes in the wake of complaints against parties for using the armed forces for political gains, especially in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack and the February 26 Balakot air strike. Read more

Meanwhile, at an election rally in Kendrapara, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced 33 per cent quota for women who will contest on the  Biju Janata Dal party ticket in the upcoming polls.  "I am delighted to be in Kendrapara today. Here, I have announced 33 per cent reservation for women in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections," Patnaik said. 

Thirty-three per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha is a long-standing demand that hasn't been implemented due to the lack of political will. The Women's Reservation Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010 but the Lower House never voted on it. This meant that the bill lapsed after the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha in 2014.

Since the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly has been dissolved, the EC is bound to hold fresh polls there as well within a six-month period, which will end in May.

The J-K assembly's six-year term was to end on March 16, 2021, but it got dissolved after a ruling coalition between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell apart.

There is a high probability of the elections being spread across seven to eight phases this time.  In 2014, the EC had announced the election schedule on March 5 and the nine-phase electoral exercise was spread across April and May. While the first phase polling was on April 7, the last phase was on May 12.

The required electronic voting machines and paper trail machines are in place to be deployed in nearly 10 lakh polling stations across 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, according to news agency PTI. 

Former Chief Election Commissioner of India Dr S Y Quraishi offer his insight on how this year's polls might be held. He says the last three general elections (2004, 2009, 2014) were held were held from April 20 to May 10 (four phases), April 16 to May 13 (five phases) and April 7 to May 12 (nine phases), respectively. "The window available this time is still similar. But not much," he tweeted

The dates on which the schedule was announced was :
2004 - Feb 29,2004
2009 - March 2,2009
2014 - March 5,2014

Due date for constitution of new house :
2004 - June 1
2009 - May 30
2014 - June 3
2019 - June 2 https://t.co/U1HEH9JqRz

— Dr. S.Y. Quraishi (@DrSYQuraishi) March 9, 2019