The Chief Election Commissioner of India, Rajiv Kumar, along with newly-appointed Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, announced the schedule for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 on Saturday (March 16).
The elections for the 18th Lok Sabha will be conducted in seven phases, commencing on April 19 and concluding on June 1. The results will be officially declared on June 4.
The announcement occurred during a press conference held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar revealed that the elections will be conducted in seven phases, ensuring a smooth and systematic electoral process across the country.
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Following the announcement, a question-answer session was conducted between the media representatives and the Chief Election Commissioner. One of the major topics discussed was the resignation of former Election Commissioner Arun Goel just days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls schedule.
CEC Rajiv Kumar expressed his respect for Goel's decision, stating, "Arun Goel was a very distinguished member of the team and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him. But, in every institution, everyone must be given personal space, and that should not be touched. He had his reasons, and you should ask him about it."
"But let me be clear... we have a very sound tradition of not stifling dissent within the four walls of the ECI. This (the planning and conduct of elections) is a very complicated exercise... and three minds are always better than one..." he added.
Following Goel's departure, Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu assumed the roles of election commissioners on March 14. Both Kumar and Sandhu are 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, hailing from the Kerala and Uttarakhand cadres, respectively.