COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Elections to commence in four phases from February 16

The Election Commission has announced the schedule to elect the 12th Lok Sabha.

The poll will be held on February 16, 22, 28 and March 7.

Counting of votes will begin on March 8, except in Jammu and Kashmir where it will commence on March 9.

Of the 543 parliamentary constituencies, 222 will go to the hustings on February 16, 186 on February 22, 132 on February 28. Three constituencies will seek the ballot box on March 7.

Polling in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Manipur, Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, the Andaman and Nicobar islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Delhi will take place on February 16. Some constituencies in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh will also vote on February 16. The second phase of voting in these large states will take place on February 22.

Two-phased voting is also scheduled to take place in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and West Bengal. The first phase will take place on February 22, the second on February 28.

Voting in J&K will take place in three phases, on February 16, 22 and March 7.

Elections to the Meghalaya and Tripura state assemblies will take place on February 16, to the Nagaland assembly on February 22, to the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assemblies on February 28. Voters in these states will also vote for their Lok Sabha candidates on these days.

Mizoram, Nagaland and Pondicherry will vote on February 22, Daman/Diu, Goa and Kerala will vote on February 28.

The election results will be formally declared on March 12 and the Lok Sabha will convene on March 15.

Tell us what you think of this report