New Delhi:The 2014 general election will in all probability begin in the second week of April and could be spread over seven phases. The 2009 polls were held in five phases from April 16 to May 13. Highly placed sources said the schedule is now in the process of being finalised, and efforts are on to cut it to six phases. If a six or seven-phase schedule is finalised, it will be the first time the nation has elections spread over such a long period.
The announcement is expected in the middle of this week after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s two-day visit to Burma beginning Monday. The model code of conduct comes into force the moment the schedule is announced, and will apply to all political parties and governments, both the Centre and all states. This would effectively stop any government from making any pronouncements on new schemes and promises that may attract voters. It also has guidelines for political parties to explain the rationale of financing the promises in their manifestos, in line with Supreme Court directives.
The new Lok Sabha must be constituted by May 31 as the term of the outgoing House expires June 1. Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Sikkim will also elect Assemblies simultaneously.The Election Commission is for the first time introducing a system of “paper trails” for electronic voting in some constituencies on an experimental basis. This follows demands from various quarters that a paper trail should be in place to create a foolproof system in order to avoid any controversies on the outcome of the polls. Another addition will be the introduction of the “None Of The Above” option in voting across the country. This had been put in place in the Assembly polls last year in November-December.The entire general election process will take nearly three months to be completed. There is a Supreme Court order that there should be a limit of six weeks between the announcements of the schedule to the first date of poll, to ensure that the model code doesn’t stay on for an unduly long period, inhibiting government decisions.
An estimated 814 million people are expected to exercise their franchise in this Lok Sabha poll, after 97.1 million new voters were added to the electoral list. In the 2009 polls, there were 714 million voters, while there were 671 million voters in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls.
Out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats and 294 Assembly constituencies, 25 Lok Sabha seats and 175 Assembly seats will remain in the residuary Andhra Pradesh and the remaining 17 Lok Sabha seats and 117 Assembly seats will go to the new state of Telangana. Orissa is due to elect its 147 member Assembly while Sikkim will choose its 32 member Assembly.
Candidates have also been allowed to spend up to Rs 70 lakhs on their campaign for the first time. In 2011 it was Rs 40 lakhs while in 2009 it was Rs 25 lakhs. The first phase of polling is likely in some of the Naxal affected states and a few places in the Northeast.
A total of 11 million staff members, including security forces, will be deployed to assist in the smooth conduct of the elections. The list of Central government staffers to be deployed as micro observers in sensitive polling stations is being prepared.
An estimated eight lakh polling station has been set up across the country. The EC has made arrangements for the deployment of nearly 12 lakh electronic voting machines (EVMs), with the addition of another 2.5 lakh new EVMs, which the commission has placed orders for.The EC has not conducted any general election in a single phase since 1971 as the size of the electorate has grown by leaps and bounds over the decades.
