The Election Commission announced the schedule for the Lok Sabha polls at 5pm today setting in motion the biggest democratic exercise in the world involving nearly 90 crore voters.

The elections will be held for 543 seats of the Lok Sabha on approximately 10 lakh polling booths. The tenure of the current Lok Sabha ends on June 3. The Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases.

Read highlights here:

6:42 pm IST Number of seats and date of polls





6:38 pm IST Urge people to participate in the festival of democracy: Biplab Kumar Deb General #Elections 2019 have been declared! Best wishes to Election Commission for smooth conducting of elections. Elections to be conducted in #Tripura in 2 phases- 11 & 18 April. Urge my fellow citizens of Tripura to wholeheartedly participate in the festival of democracy: Biplab Kumar Deb, Tripura CM





6:32 pm IST Candidates asked to desist from using environmentally hazardous publicity material: CEC Commission has also directed political parties/candidates to desist from using environmentally hazardous publicity material and promote usage of eco friendly substances for preparation of election campaign material, this is a kind of appeal to everybody: CEC





6:28 pm IST EVMs used in this country for over two decades: CEC EVMs used in this country for over two decades: CEC when questioned on doubts raised by Opposition leaders about the functioning of EVMs.





6:20 pm IST Tried to cover left-wing extremism affected areas at one go: CEC We have tried to cover left-wing extremism affected areas of various states at one go. Once the left-wing affected states get covered which require much more force, then those forces can move to other areas: CEC





6:18 pm IST Time to throw out the most dictatorial and anti-federal govt in the history of India: Kejriwal Ultimately back to We the people -the real power of our democracy. Time to throw out the most dictatorial and anti-federal govt in the history of India. Time to seek answers on demonetisation, jobs, destruction of traders n destroying brotherhood amongst different communities: Arvind Kejriwal





6:16 pm IST India’s 130 crore people deserve a better govt: Mayawati Anti-poor & pro-capitalist Modi govt functioning disturbed peace & tranquillity, causing unrest & anger among masses. India’s 130 crore peace loving people certainly deserve a better govt. Hence new govt must honour constitution, respect democratic values & care sarvasamaj: Mayawati





6:14 pm IST Call upon the people of India to turn out in record numbers: Amit Shah We welcome the declaration of elections for the 17th Lok Sabha. I call upon the people of India to turnout in record numbers and enhance the vibrancy of India’s electoral process: Amit Shah





6:12 pm IST Hope elections are conducted in a level playing field: Kumaraswamy India is set for another election. In this battle of democracy, I hope elections are conducted in a level playing field. All parties and candidates must follow the guidelines issued by the ECI and uphold the values of democracy, and respect the decision of the voters: Kumaraswamy





6:10 pm IST First time since 1996, assembly polls in J&K are not being held on time: Omar Abdullah “First time since 1996 Assembly elections in J&K are not being held on time. Remember this the next time you are praising PM Modi for his strong leadership. What happened to @rajnathsingh’s assurance to Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha as well as to the all party meeting recently in Delhi that all forces would be made available for simultaneous polls?” tweets Omar Abdullah.





6:04 pm IST Festival of democracy here: PM Modi The festival of democracy, Elections are here. I urge my fellow Indians to enrich the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with their active participation. I hope this election witnesses a historic turnout. I particularly call upon first time voters to vote in record numbers: Narendra Modi tweets The festival of democracy, Elections are here.



I urge my fellow Indians to enrich the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with their active participation. I hope this election witnesses a historic turnout.



I particularly call upon first time voters to vote in record numbers. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 10, 2019





6:00 pm IST High-powered committee looking into complaints regarding EVMs: CEC High-powered committee looking into complaints regarding EVMs. We are waiting for the report. All bypolls to be held simultaneously with Lok Sabha polls: CEC





5:57 pm IST Simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha polls in 4 states Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh to have simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha polls.





5:54 pm IST No assembly elections in J-K EC recently visited J-K, met political parties and govt officials. Due to constraints in number of security forces and recent violent incidents in J-K, there will be no elections in the state. Three special observers for J-K: CEC





5:48 pm IST Seven-phase polls in three states Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal





5:48 pm IST Five-phase poll in J&K Five-phase poll in J-K, no state to have six-phase polls





5:46 pm IST Four-phase polls in four states Jharkhand Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Odisha





5:44 pm IST Three-phase polls in two states Assam Chhattisgarh





5:42 pm IST Two-phase polls in four states Karnataka Manipur Rajasthan Tripura





5:40 pm IST Single phase elections in 22 states and UTs Andhra Arunachal Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Kerala MEghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Punjab Sikkim Telangana Tamil Nadu Uttarakhand Andaman and Nicobar Dadra and Nagar Daman and Diu Lakshadweep Delhi Pondicherry Chandigarh





5:35 pm IST Dates of polling and number of seats April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19 are the other dates of polling. 91 seats in Phase I in 20 states, 97 seats Phase II in 13 states, 115 seats in Phase III in 14 states, 71 seats in Phase IV in 9 states, 51 seats in Phase V in 7 states, 59 seats in Phase VI in 7 seats, 59 seats in Phase VII in 8 states.





5:30 pm IST Elections to be held in seven phases Elections to be held in seven phases. April 11 voting, May 23 counting: EC





5:28 pm IST IT giants have promised action against hate speech: CEC IT giants such as Google and Facebook have promised action against hate speech: CEC





5:26 pm IST All political ads on social media will require pre-certification: CEC Measures being taken to reach out to voters in the remotest of corners in the country using community radio, folk arts. Candidates asked to declare social media accounts. All political ads on social media will require pre-certification: CEC





5:24 pm IST Citizen app will help public reach out to us: CEC Special observers will be sent to sensitive states. Stringent monitoring of all events on poll days using information technology. cVIGIL, a citizen app, will help public reach out to Election Commission on any malpractices: CEC





5:22 pm IST Committed to protecting whistleblowers’ identities: CEC If we seize unaccounted cash, we put it out in local newspapers for information. This protects the identity of whistleblowers: CEC





5:20 pm IST Faces of candidates on EVMs: CEC Faces of candidates on EVMs. Central police forces to be deployed in large numbers. CEC refuses to disclose exact number.





5:17 pm IST VVPAT, paper trail in all polling stations: CEC VVPAT, paper trail in all polling stations. Model Code of Conduct comes into effect from today itself in the entire country. Any violation will be dealt with in the strictest manner: CEC





5:14 pm IST 10 lakh polling stations, increase of 10%: CEC Photo of candidate to make sure the voter has clarity. 10 lakh polling stations, increase of 10%: CEC





5:12 pm IST 84.3 million first-time voters: CEC We held discussions with the home ministry. Officials have been slogging for months to ensure credible elections. Total electorate 900 million, 84.3 million voter increase. 15 million between age of 18 and 19: CEC Sunil Arora





5:10 pm IST We try for participatory elections: CEC Sunil Arora Exams, festivals, harvest, weather factored in for deciding poll dates. We are trying for participatory elections. We also looked into examination schedules and festivals before deciding on the poll schedule: CEC Sunil Arora





5:08 pm IST Indian elections a beacon light for all emerging democracies: CEC Sunil Arora CEC Sunil Arora says Indian elections a beacon light for all emerging democracies. The poll panel held deliberations will several departments including railways to ensure a smooth process. A team of the Election Commission visited different states and union territories, he says.





5:05 pm IST Held deliberations with stakeholders: CEC We started with organising a meeting with all chief electoral officers of states, video conferencing with officials, and deliberations with police and railways. We also held deliberations with education officials to know the situation in schools: Sunil Arora, chief election comissioner





5:00 pm IST EC begins press conference Sunil Arora, chief election comissioner, begins press conference to announce Lok Sabha poll schedule.





4:50 pm IST Lok Sabha Elections 2019: All you need to know about Madhya Pradesh ahead of polls 2019 The Congress party got a major boost ahead of the Lok Sabha 2019 election in the Hindi heartland state of Madhya Pradesh as it wrested power from the BJP after 15 years by winning the assembly polls held last year. The BJP had swept the national polls in Madhya Pradesh in 2014 and won 27 out of the 29 Lok Sabha seats in the central state. The grand old party had won only two seats that year – chief minister Kamal Nath from Chhindwara and Jyotiraditya Scindia from Guna. In 2015, Kantilal Bhuria won the Jhabua-Ratlam by-election following the death of Dileep Singh Bhuria.





4:40 pm IST Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Numbers, names and issues in Odisha The Lok Sabha election 2019 and assembly polls are likely to be held simultaneously in the coastal eastern state of Odisha, where the ruling BJD has held the fort for nearly two decades now. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been working towards getting a foothold in Odisha, identified as one of the priority states ahead of the polls, and prepared a blueprint with the twin objective of strengthening the organisation and gaining mass support in the state.





4:30 pm IST ‘Don’t use photographs of defence personnel for election campaigns,’ EC tells political parties The Election Commission on Saturday directed political parties to desist from displaying photographs of defence personnel in advertisements or otherwise as part of their election propaganda or campaigning. The direction came after a complaint by the ministry of defence.





4:27 pm IST Lok Sabha elections are expected to be held in seven to nine phases Lok Sabha elections are expected to be held in seven to nine phases.





4:25 pm IST Tenure of current Lok Sabha ends on June 3 Tenure of current Lok Sabha ends on June 3.





4:24 pm IST EC has allotted common symbols to 39 registered un-recognised political parties for general elections Election Commission of India has allotted common symbols to 39 registered un-recognised political parties for coming general elections, reports news agency ANI.





4:22 pm IST Elections will be held for 543 seats of Lok Sabha The elections will be held for 543 seats of the Lok Sabha on approximately 10 lakh polling booths across the country.



