With the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) top officials conducting final checks in various states, sources suggest that the announcement of the Lok Sabha election dates is imminent after March 9, 2024. The upcoming General elections to constitute the 18th Lok Sabha in India are anticipated to occur in the months of April and May.
In the ongoing preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and simultaneous Assembly polls in certain states, a delegation of ECI officials is currently engaged in successive visits to states across the country.
According to insider information, representatives from the ECI are scheduled to meet government authorities between March 8-9 to discuss the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the availability of necessary forces for electoral duties.
Further, a visit to Jammu and Kashmir is planned for March 12-13, aimed at assessing the ground reality to ascertain the feasibility of conducting Assembly polls in the Union Territory concurrently with the Lok Sabha elections. Sources emphasize that this decision hinges upon the availability of adequate security forces.
The organized visits by ECI officials to different states hint at a possible election calendar for 2024 akin to the one observed in 2019.
In the previous Lok Sabha elections held in 2019, the announcement was made on March 10. Subsequently, polling was conducted in seven phases spanning from April 11 to May 19, with the counting of votes taking place on May 23.
