Lok Sabha elections 2024: Parties’ money, muscle, misinfo to be tracked, says CEC

CEC Rajiv Kumar with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar during a press conference to announce dates for the Lok Sabha polls. Pic/PTI

Announcing the dates for the Lok Sabha elections here on Saturday, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said an elaborate security arrangement has been put in place to look after the overall safety of the entire election process. To hold the elections peacefully, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has ensured that the security agencies deal effectively with four "M"s - Muscle, Money, Misinformation, and MCC (Model Code of Conduct) violations.

The CEC said the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have been deployed to supplement the local police force in ensuring a peaceful and conducive atmosphere for the smooth conduct of the elections in a free, fair, and credible manner. Based on the assessment of the ground situation, CAPF and State Armed Police (SAP) will be deployed during the elections.

The CAPF/SAP shall also be deployed in the "expenditure sensitive constituencies" and other vulnerable areas and critical polling stations as per the assessment of the ground realities by the CEOs of all states/UTs in consultation with the various stakeholders. "These forces will secure the strong rooms where the EVMs and VVPATs will be stored, besides securing the counting centres, as required," Kumar said.

He also said that comprehensive instructions have been issued to deal with illegal cash flow, including deployment of expenditure observers, flying squads, static surveillance teams, video surveillance teams, accounting teams, media certification and monitoring committees, etc. The state excise departments have been asked to monitor the production, distribution, sale, and storage of liquor and inducements in the form of free items during the election process.

The Income Tax Department has been asked to activate its air intelligence units (AIUs) at the airports, gather intelligence, and take necessary action to check the movement of large sums of money in all the states.

Polls and voting dates

Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases, and results will be announced on June 4

First phase
102
Seats, April 19

Second phase
89
Seats across 13 states/UTs, April 26

Third phase
94
Seats across 12 states/UTs, May 7

Fourth phase
96
Seats across 10 states and UTs, May 13

Fifth phase
49
Seats, May 20

Sixth phase
57
Seats, May 25

Seventh phase
57
Lok Sabha seats across eight states, June 1

67%
Voting percentage in 2019 Lok Sabha Elections

97 CR
No of voters eligible to vote in 2024 Lok Sabha Elections