The 2024 Lok Sabha elections will have the second longest voting period in history after the first parliamentary elections.
The elections, spread over 44 days, will be held in seven phases from April 19 to June 1, the Election Commission of India announced on Saturday. The resulted will be declared on June 4, the poll body said.
Notably, the first parliamentary elections of 1951-52 lasted for over four months, making it the longest voting period in India. On the other hand, the 1980 general elections were held for just four days, making it the shortest elections in India, news agency PTI reported.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said during the press conference that the dates were decided based on the geography of regions and other factors such as public holidays, festivals and examinations.
Responding to a question if the long schedule would work against the opposition parties, he said, “Look at the geography of the countryâæthere are rivers, mountains, snow, jungle, summersâæthink of the security forces’ movements, they will move in the gaps between phases, through the length and breadth of the countryâæimagine the pressure on them. There are festivals and examsâæwhen we sit with the calendar, we fix one date, then it has to be changedâæ”
“We do not take any action to favour anyone or hurt anyone. If anyone has such doubt they are wrong,” the CEC said.
Several opposition parties have criticised the move to hold elections in seven phases, especially in states such as West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
The Chief Election Commissioner said that the election have to be held in more phases in larger states, which have a higher number of constituencies.
The country’s first general election was held in 68 phases between October 25, 1951, and February 21, 1952, for 489 Lok Sabha seats across 401 constituencies in 25 states, news agency PTI said.
While 314 constituencies elected one member each, 86 constituencies elected two members (one from general category and one from either Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe categories) and one constituency elected three representatives. The multi-seat constituencies were abolished in the 1960s.
Himachal Pradesh voted in 1951, as its weather was commonly inclement in February and March, while the remaining states voted in February-March of 1952. Notably, no voting took place in Jammu and Kashmir for Lok Sabha elections until 1967.
(With inputs from PTI)
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