GUWAHATI: The state Election Department has sought the opinion of the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding the phases in which the Lok Sabha 2024 elections will be held in Assam.
The department has mooted the idea of holding the general elections in two phases, in view of the Rongali Bihu festivities, the biggest festival of the Assamese community, approaching in April, according to sources in the department.
Although the dates for the Lok Sabha election in the state have not been finalized, it is expected to be held in April or May next year.
It is a convention for the ECI to seek the view of the Election Department on the convenient dates for holding the election, based on local conditions. This time, the Department has suggested that the election should be preferably held before Bihu. The final decision on the dates will be taken by the ECI, as is the norm.
The last Lok Sabha elections in the state, in 2019, were held in three phases. The first phase of polling was held on April 11 for the Tezpur, Kaliabor, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur parliamentary constituencies. The second phase of polling was held on April 18 for the Karimganj, Silchar, Autonomuous district (Diphu), Nowgaon and Mangaldoi parliamentary constituencies. The third phase of polling for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in the state was completed on April 23, when the polling was held for the Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Barpeta and Guwahati parliamentary constituencies.
The first phase of the 2019 LS polls was held before Bihu, while the next two phases were held after the festival was over.
Election department sources also said that the 5,000 additional EVMs allotted by ECI for Assam were on the way.
It should be mentioned here that an additional 5,000 EVMs have been allotted for the state in view of the increase in the number of polling stations, necessitated after the delimitation exercise for the Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies in the state undertaken by the ECI earlier.
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