New Delhi: The Election Commission of India on Monday issued the notification for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections, setting in motion the high-voltage electoral battle where the BJP seeks to return to power amid opposition's efforts to present a united fight to unseat it.
Polling would be held in 91 parliamentary constituencies spread across 20 states on April 11 under the first of the seven-phase general elections.
With the issuance of the notification for the first phase of the election, signed by President Ram Nath Kovind, the nomination process has begun which would continue till March 25. Scrutiny of the nomination papers will be held on March 26 and the last days of withdrawing nominations is March 28.
By the evening of March 28, a clear picture on the number of candidates in each of the 91 constituencies will emerge. All parliamentary constituencies in 10 states and Union Territories will go for polling in the first phase. These include, Andhra Pradesh (25 seats), Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya (two seats each), Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep (one seat each), Telangana (17 seats) and Uttarakhand (five seats). Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal will see polling in all the seven phases.
In the first phase, eight west UP constituencies, two in West Bengal and four in Bihar will go for polls. UP has 80 seats, while West Bengal and Bihar have 42 and 40 Lok Sabha seats respectively. The Jammu and Baramulla seats in Jammu and Kashmir will also go for polling in the first phase.
