The Election Commission (EC) of India, on the 10th of March, announced the dates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Sunil Arora, the Chief Election Commissioner, on the 10th of March, during a press conference, announced, the Lok Sabha elections will begin from the 11th of April and will last till the 19th of May 2019. The polls will be held for 543 Lok Sabha seats, in seven phases in approximately 10 lakh polling booths across India.
Speaking about the number of voters, it is said, a minimum of 90 crore voters are registered to vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Out of the 90 crore voters, 1.5 crores are 18 or 19 years old and are first time voters. The number of voters may increase as the updation of information and the enrollment of the voters will continue till the last day of filing the nominations.
Sunil Arora said, after several meetings and rounds of discussions with the election commissioners of every state, the dates for the upcoming elections were announced.
The EC of India said, the EC officials have been preparing for the elections from a long time and assured to conduct smooth polls in approximately 543 constituencies in the Country.
With the announcement of the dates of the elections, the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) also came into effect from the 10th of March, following which, the political parties will have certain restrictions for their election campaigns.
What is MCC?
The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is a set of guidelines which needs to be followed by every political party during their campaigns for the elections.
What does the MCC prohibit?
The MCC contains the guidelines which are set for the parties to ensure fair and unbiased polls. The MCC prohibits social campaigns which influence the voters. It also includes the format of the election manifestos, campaign strategies, etc.
According to the MCC, the use of loudspeakers after 6:00 P.M., is also prohibited.
If any party violates any guideline included in the MCC, the party has to face dire consequences.
Political Parties’ reaction after the announcement of the dates
Political parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP,) the Indian National Congress (INC,) the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP,) the Samajwadi Party (SP) and many more parties took to Twitter and shared their opinions about the election dates and the enforcement of the MCC.
12 मई का दिन होगा,
झाडू चुनाव चिन्ह होगा।#LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/Il8pT1ku5M— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) March 10, 2019
The results of the Lok Sabha elections will be announced on the 23rd of May. The term of the current Lok Sabha expires on the 3rd of June, after which the new Lok Sabha will be constituted.
The major parties contesting the Lok Sabha elections, which are scheduled between the 11th of April and the 19th of May, are the BJP and the INC.
Stay tuned for further updates about the Lok Sabha elections.