VOICE THE VOTE!

New Delhi/Jaipur: The commencement of the Indian national election’s inaugural phase is slated for today. This election cycle pertains to allocation of 543 seats within the Lok Sabha, India’s lower house of Parliament. The formation of the forthcoming government hinges upon the party or coalition securing a majority of these LS seats. This electoral event stands as largest ever democratic undertaking in both world and historical contexts, featuring a staggering 969 million registered voters empowered to participate across 44 days, facilitated by 5.5 million electronic voting machines.

Today marks initiation of Phase 1 in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections across various states. A total of 102 Lok Sabha seats spread across 21 states and UTs are slated for polling during this initial phase. Notably, among these seats, 45 were secured by UPA and 41 by NDA in 2019 elections. Furthermore, 6 of these seats have undergone redrawings as part of the delimitation process.

In the diverse landscape of India’s multiparty democracy, a myriad of national and regional parties vie for electoral support. However, electoral battleground primarily features 2 principal coalitions contending for national leadership: NDA, spearheaded by Modi’s BJP, and the INDIA coalition, comprised of 26 parties and led by Opposition, the INC.