Delay over EC quitting, festival dates: why 2024 Lok Sabha polls extend into June

The 2024 Lok Sabha elections, extending into the peak summer month of June for only the second time in the country’s electoral history, marks a 44-day election period the second-longest after the first Parliamentary election in 1951-52.

This protracted process has been necessitated by a combination of factors.

The first general election to Lok Sabha was held over 68 phases from October 25, 1951, to February 21, 1952. More than 70 years later, the 2024 Parliamentary elections with a record number of 96.8 crore voters is set to be the longest.

That apart, the only other time general elections were held in June was the 1991 Lok Sabha polls, but that was because the Chandra Shekhar government was dissolved 16 months after it was sworn in.

In the last four election cycles held since 2004, voting has traditionally taken place in April and May, with new members of Parliament being elected by the end of May. For instance, in 2019, the last date of polling was May 19, and results were announced May 23. However, this year, even as the number of phases remains the same, seven, the last date of polling is June 1 and the results will be announced on June 4.

The spill over into June, sources said, is primarily due to two reasons: a six-day delay in announcing the polls compared to 2019 and consecutive festivals such as Holi, Tamil new year, Bihu and Baisakhi in March and April.

The Commission had to ensure that important dates such as the last date of withdrawal or polling days did not coincide with these festivals.

The delay in the poll announcement was partly circumstantial, as Election Commissioner Arun Goel abruptly quit, citing personal reasons, just days before the notification thereby reducing the poll panel to a single-member body.

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