New Delhi: The Lok Sabha election schedule, announced by Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday, threw up some interesting and intriguing facts.
Polling will be held across the country from April 19 to June 1, with results to be declared on June 4.
However, the 36 states and Union Territories have been handed different schedules.
As many as 22 states and UTs will complete polling in a single phase, while voters in 3 states – West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar – will cast their ballots on all seven polling days.
Odisha, on the other hand, is among 3 states where voting will be conducted in 4 phases.
The picture of contrasts is illustrated in the fact that states like Tamil Nadu will vote in the very first phase on April 19, and then wait till June 4 to know the result.
On the other hand, West Bengal, UP and Bihar will see voting on all seven days.
West Bengal’s ruling party Trinamool Congress (TMC) slammed and even ridiculed ECI’s decision.
“We have 42 constituencies for which voting will be held over 44 days! They might as well have organised a day’s polling for every seat,” quipped senior TMC leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy.
State minister Chandrima Bhattacharya claimed that seven-phase polling will help BJP.
“We had asked the EC to hold election in one or two phases but the poll panel has announced seven-phase election for West Bengal… We feel that this kind of set-up will help the BJP use its money power during election process,” Bhattacharya said.
There have been no criticism from the other two seven-phase states Bihar and UP, both of which are ruled by BJP and its allies.
West Bengal, which witnessed widespread violence after several elections over the last few years, saw seven-phase voting in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections too. In the 2021 Assembly polls, voting for 294 constituencies was conducted in eight phases.
