New Delhi, March 5: The Election Commission announced the schedule for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections that will be held in nine phases from April 7, 2014 to May 12, 2014, while the voting in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts will be scheduled on April 17.
Speaking at the press conference in New Delhi on March 5, Wednesday, Chief election commissioner Sampath said that counting of votes to be held on May 16 and will be over in a day.
He also said that the first date of poll will be held on April 7, 2014 in two states and six parliamentary constituencies will be covered. The second phase of poll on April 9 will cover seven constituencies in five states. The third phase on April 10 to cover 92 constituencies in 14 states and the fourth day of poll on April 12 to cover three states and five constituencies.
The fifth phase will be held on April 17 which will cover 13 states and UTs and 122 constituencies and sixth phase will be on April 24, covering 12 states and 117 constituencies. The seventh phase will be held on April 30 to cover nine states and 89 constituencies, eighth phase on May 7 will cover seven states and 64 constituencies and the last and ninth phase on will be on May 12 and cover 3 states and 41 constituencies.
Sampath also said that there has been a 12% increase in the number of polling stations in the country with 9,30,000 stations this year. The model code of conduct has come into immediate effect. It prevents the government from making any decisions that can be seen as influencing voters. It also prohibits political parties from making unsubstantiated allegations against opponents.
The decision to announce the dates to elect 543 members to Lok Sabha was taken after a series of meeting. In a first for general elections, voters will be able to reject all candidates with None Of The Above (NOTA) buttons on 1.5 million electronic voting machines (EVMs). He will also experiment with verifiable paper trail system with EVMs in about 10,000 polling booths across the country, he added.
