India's Lok Sabha elections delayed until June 2024

India's 2024 Lok Sabha elections will extend into June 2024 due to delays caused by the EC's resignation and festival dates.

India's Lok Sabha elections 2024 are set to take place in June and will run for 44 days, making it the second-longest election period in India's history. The first Parliamentary election in 1951-52 remains the longest, lasting for 68 phases.

With an unprecedented 96.8 crore voters expected to participate in the upcoming polls, the Election Commission has had to plan around multiple festivals such as Holi, Tamil New Year, Bihu, and Baisakhi in March and April. The Commission was careful to avoid scheduling essential dates such as the last date of withdrawal or polling days during these festivals.

The elections were initially delayed by six days due to the sudden resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel just days before the notification. The poll panel had only one member at that point, and it was essential to have the full Commission in place before conducting such a crucial election. Two new Election Commissioners were appointed on March 14, and the polls were announced the following day.

The final polling date for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections has been set for June 1, with the results scheduled to be announced on the same day. The extension into June can be attributed to the delay in announcing the polls compared to 2019 and multiple festivals in March and April.

When planning the election schedule, the Commission had to consider numerous factors, including redeployment of security forces between phases and avoiding any overlap between crucial days such as nomination, the last withdrawal date, or polling day with any festivals.

Despite concerns about voter turnout in the peak summer month of June, a senior official stated that by the seventh phase of the elections, only 57 seats would remain in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh. All southern states and Rajasthan, where maximum temperatures soar, would have completed voting by then.