The Election Commission of India announced the dates for the upcoming general elections on March 16. According to ECI, the Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases starting April 19 and the election results will be declared on June 4.

According to the ECI announcement, voting for the first phase of the general elections will be held on April 19 in 102 assembly constituencies in 21 states namely Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.

Voting for the second phase of the general elections will take place in April in 89 constituencies across 13 states, namely Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir.

Voting for the third phase of the assembly elections will be held on May 7 in 94 constituencies across 12 states namely Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Jammu and Kashmir.

Voting for the fourth phase will be held on May 13 in 96 constituencies across 10 states namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir.

Voting for the fifth phase will be held on May 20 in 49 constituencies across 8 states namely Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Voting for the sixth phase will take place on May 25 in 57 constituencies across seven states, namely Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and the national capital Delhi.

Voting for Phase 7 will take place on June 1 in 57 constituencies across 8 states namely Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Chandigarh.

“A gold standard in election campaigns. The successful conduct of 17 parliamentary elections, over 400 state elections and 16 presidential and vice-presidential elections reflects the trust of the people in the Commission, its machinery and its personnel,” said ECI.

The Model Code of Conduct came into force on the evening of March 16th and will remain in force until June 1st.