New Delhi: The formal process for the longest nine-phased general elections to 16th Lok Sabha was today set in motion with the President issuing notification for polling in six constituencies of Bihar on April 10.
President Pranab Mukherjee issued the notification for the polling in these constituencies on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet to which the Election Commission had sent the schedule.
The notifications for Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim will be issued by the Governors of respective states.
The first notification for Lok Sabha, however, relates to the third phase of polling to be held on April 10 because of some administrative reasons like a holiday being observed in Bihar on March 22.
The second notification, which will cover the constituencies and states that come under the first phase of polling on April 7, will be issued Friday. It will cover five constituencies in Assam and one in Tripura.
Saturday, March 15, will see issue of notifications for 93 constituencies spread across 18 states going to polls on April 9 and 10.
On April 9, seven constituencies in five states and on April 10, 86 constituencies in 13 states--including Delhi which has seven seats--will elect members to the Lok Sabha.
On Saturday, April 12 five constituencies in three states will go for polls the notification for which will be issued on March 19.
A maximum of 122 constituencies spread across 13 states
will participate in the electoral exercise on April 17. The notification for these constituencies will also be issued on March 19.
A total of 117 Parliamentary constituencies in 12 states will go for polls on April 24 for which a formal notification setting into motion electoral process will be issued on March 29, a Saturday.
On April 2, notification will be issued for Lok sabha elections to 89 constituencies across nine states, while on April 12 another notification will be issued for the 8th phase of polling on May 7 in 64 constituencies in seven states.
The 9th and the last phase of general election will be held on on May 12 in which electorate of 41 constituencies spread across 3 states will exercise their franchise. The notification for the last phase will be issued on April 17.
Arunachal Pradesh will have single day polling on April 9 to cover two constituencies, while Assam with 14 Lok Sabha seats will have a three-day poll on April 7, 12 and 24.
Battle state of Bihar with 40 constituencies will have polling on six days beginning April 10, 17, 24, 30 and May 7 and 12.
Naxal-hit state of Chhattisgarh will witness a three-day poll on April 10, 17 and 24 to elect 11 MPs, while the small state of Goa with two constituencies will have a single day polling on April 17.
Gujarat (26 seats), Haryana (10) and Himachal Pradesh (4) will have a single day polling on April 30, April 10 and May 7 respectively. Kerala (20) and Karnataka (28) will also have a single day polling on April 10 and 17 respectively.
Jammu and Kashmir with six Lok Sabha seats will witness polling on five days on April 10, 17, 24, 30 and May 7, while Jharkhand with 14 seats will go to polls on three days - April 10, 17 and 24.
29 seats in Madhya Pradesh and 48 seats in Maharashtra will go to polls on three days - April 10, 17 and 24.
Two seats in Manipur will go to polls on April 9 and 17 while its neighbours Meghalaya (2), Mizoram (1) and Nagaland (1) will go to polls on a single day on April 9.
Odisha (21 LS seats) will have a two day polling on April 10 and 17 to elect 10 and 11 constituencies respectively. On the same days, assembly elections will be held on 70 and 77 assembly segments respectively.
Punjab will have a single-day polling on April 30 to elect 13 MPs, while Tamil Nadu (39 seats) and Puducherry (1) and will go to polls on April 24. Uttarakhand (5) will go to polls on May 7.
Voters in Rajasthan with 25 seats will exercise their franchise on April 17 and 24 to elect 20 on the first day and 5 MPs on the other day.
Sikkim`s lone Lok Sabha seat will go to polls on April 12 while simultaneously electing its 32-member Assembly.
Tripura with two seats will witness a two-day poll on April 7 and 12 while heartland Uttar Pradesh will choose 80 MPs on six days on April 10, 17, 24, 30 and May 7 and 12.
West Bengal will go to polls on five days to elect 42 MPs on April 17, 24, 30, May 7 and 12.
NCT of Delhi with seven seats will have a single day poll on April 10. Likewise the Union Territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh and Lakshadweep will choose their lone representatives on April 10, while Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu will elect their sole representatives on April 30.
The total electorate in the country as per final published E-rolls with January 1, 2014 as the cut-off date is about 81.45 crore compared to 71.3 crore in 2009, an increase of more than 10 crore electors.
