“The biggest festival of democracy is here,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a series of tweets as the Election Commission of India announced the full schedule of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections on Saturday. India will vote in seven phases with the mega poll exercise commencing from April 19 next month. In his first reaction on the poll dates announcement, PM Modi said that “We, the BJP-NDA are fully prepared.”

He said that the alliance will go to the voters with their ‘good governance’ track record. He used the hashtag – #PhirEkBaarModiSarkar – in all his posts. Attacking the INDIA alliance, PM Modi said that before his two consecutive terms, the country was suffering from ‘policy paralysis.’ Since then, PM Modi added that India has seen a ‘glorious turnaround.’

Meanwhile, following the Election Commission of India’s announcement of election dates for the Lok Sabha and four state assemblies, the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has been enforced since Saturday. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar urged all political parties and their leaders to strictly adhere to the poll code.

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With the tenure of the 17th Lok Sabha ending on June 16, 2024, elections for its 543 seats must be conducted before then. The general election for these seats will be conducted in seven phases starting from April 19, with counting scheduled for June 4. Additionally, elections for the State legislatures of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim will take place during the same period. The Election Commission’s guidelines prohibit any party or candidate from engaging in activities that could exacerbate existing differences, foster mutual hatred, or stir tensions between different castes, communities, religious, or linguistic groups.