At a press conference on March 16 in New Delhi, India's Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced that this year's parliamentary election will take place in 7 stages from April 19 to June 1, according to AFP.
Officials announce election schedule in New Delhi on March 16
Votes will be counted on June 4 and results will normally be announced the same day. More than 1 million polling stations have been set up across the country and 15 million election workers are involved in organizing the election.
A total of 970 million people are eligible to vote, more than the combined populations of the United States, Russia and the European Union. “We will take democracy to every corner of the country. Our promise is to hold a national election in such a way that we remain a beacon for democracy in the world ,” Kumar said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP and regional allies will contest the election against about two dozen opposition parties and polls show the BJP will win easily.
According to Reuters, a victory would help Mr. Modi (74 years old) become the second prime minister in history to be elected for a third term, after India's first prime minister, Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru.
Mr Modi has been on a campaign trail for the past few months and has been travelling across the country, inaugurating new projects, delivering speeches and attending religious events, public and private meetings.
In his speeches, Mr. Modi praised economic growth over the past two terms, helping India become the world's fastest growing major economy at the moment. He also mentioned infrastructure investment and welfare programs for the poor.
In 2019, the BJP won 303 seats while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the party had a total of more than 350 seats in the 543-seat lower house. This time, the target is 370 seats for the BJP and a total of more than 400 seats for the NDA.
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