GENERAL ELECTIONS - 2014
SCHEDULE OF ELECTIONS
General Elections to Lok Sabha
and
State Legislative Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim
Nirvachan Sadan
Ashoka Road, New Delhi - 110001
Contents
Sl Description Page
1. Press Note: Schedule of General Elections 2014……………………………………………… 1
2. Explanatory Note on Statements…………………………………………………………………… 23
3. Poll days and corresponding Schedules (Lok Sabha)………………………………………… 24
4. Number of PCs Voting on Different Polling Dates in States & UTs…….…………….. 25
5. States/UTs wise Poll date wise PCs list Schedule…………………………………………….. 26
6. Poll days and corresponding Schedules (State Assembly Elections) ……………… 48
7. Assembly Constituencies in Andhra Pradesh in each Schedule………………………. 49
8. Assembly Constituencies in Odisha in each Schedule……………………………………… 54
9. Assembly Constituencies in Sikkim…….…………………………………….……………………… 57
10 Bye Elections to Legislative Assemblies………………………………………………………… 58
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ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA
Nirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road, New Delhi – 110 001.
No. ECI/PN/10/2014 Dated: 05.03.2014
PRESS NOTE
SUBJECT: SCHEDULE FOR GENERAL ELECTIONS, 2014
The five year term of the 15
th
Lok Sabha is due to expire on 31st
May,
2014. Credible elections, conducted at regular prescribed intervals, are the very
soul of any democratic system. Article 324 of the Constitution of India bestows the
relevant powers, duties and functions upon the Election Commission of India while
Section 14 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 provides for conduct of
the elections to constitute a new Lok Sabha before the expiry of its current term.
Taking into account these Constitutional and legal provisions, the Election
Commission of India has made comprehensive preparations for conduct of
elections to the 16th
Lok Sabha in a free, fair and peaceful manner.
2. Elections to world’s largest democracy pose immense challenges with
respect to logistics and man and material management and Commission’s
endeavour in this direction has been to consult all stakeholders, invite inputs from
all relevant departments/ organizations and evolve a coordinated framework for
smooth delivery of yet another round of General Elections.
3. In the course of assessing various dimensions involved in holding elections to
the 543 Parliamentary Constituencies (PCs) and, in particular, the parameters to
be considered for their scheduling and phasing, the Election Commission of India
held a meeting with the representatives of all recognized National and State
Political Parties on 4th February, 2014. At this meeting, the Commission also
shared its concerns with the representatives of the Political Parties on certain
aspects relating to maintenance of the standards of election campaign and
political discourse which the Commission has assiduously been trying to ensure,
with cooperation from all stakeholders, over the past few decades.
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4. The issues that emerged during the meeting with Political Parties provided
the backdrop for the planning process to be taken forward. In this direction, the
Commission organized a Conference of the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of all
the 35 States and Union Territories (UTs) on 10th February, 2014 at New Delhi.
All aspects of election preparedness were reviewed for each State/ UT and
relevant instructions were issued to the CEOs for ensuring efficient conduct of the
elections.
5. The Commission also held a meeting with the Chief Secretaries, Directors
General of Police, Home Secretaries, Chief Electoral Officers and Police Nodal
Officers of all States and UTs on 20th
February, 2014, to assess the overall law
and order situation, ascertain State/ UT specific areas of concern, deliberate on
the quantum of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) required in each State/ UT
and to review the overall preparedness of the election machinery. The cooperation
of all authorities was sought for conducting free, fair and peaceful elections across
the country, under the overall supervision and control of the Commission.
6. The conduct of General Elections in the entire country requires
considerable deployment of Central and State Police Forces to ensure peaceful,
free, fair election with fearless participation of electors, especially in the vulnerable
areas/ pockets. Mobilization, deployment and disengagement of these forces with
minimum criss cross movement and optimal utilization, involved complex planning
and detailed analysis, carried out over several rounds of consultations with the
senior officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs/ CAPFs/ Police Nodal Officers of the
States/ UTs. The Commission too, held discussions with the Union Home
Secretary to highlight the areas of coordination for effective deployment of these
forces.
7. The Commission had detailed discussions on the nation-wide Election
Communication Plan with the Secretary, Department of Telecommunication (DoT)
and senior officials of BSNL and MTNL to ensure effective multi-mode
communication system so that the Commission could track events on each of the
Poll days’ uninterruptedly. The communication shadow areas were accorded a
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priority during the meeting and DoT was asked to ensure coverage of all such
areas, after identifying the best available option.
8. Meeting was also taken by the Commission with Chairman, Railway Board
and other senior officials of the Ministry of Railways in regard to the specific
requirements of special trains for smooth and timely movement of CAPF
Companies and other police forces across States/ UTs, including their intra-State
shifting during the election period.
9. Keeping in view the interests of the students and also the fact that Polling
Stations are mostly located in school buildings and teachers are engaged as
polling personnel, the Commission has consciously factored-in the examination
schedules of various State Boards, including the Central Board of Secondary
Education, in the process of finalizing the poll dates. In addition to this, other
relevant factors like various holidays and festivals falling in the months of March,
April and May, harvest season in certain parts of the country and the inputs
obtained from the Indian Meteorological Department on the pre-monsoon rainfall,
onset and spread of monsoon and acute hot weather conditions in certain parts of
the country have also been taken into consideration.Thus, while deciding on the
number of poll days for each State/ UT and the composition of the PCs that go to
polls on a particular poll day, the Commission has, to the extent possible, taken all
relevant aspects and information, related thereto, into view.
DELIMITATION OF PARLIAMENTARY AND ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCIES
10. The General Election to the House of People, 2014 to constitute the 16th
Lok Sabha shall be held on the basis of the extent of PCs as per “Delimitation of
Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008”. The General Election
to the House of People, 2009 was also held on the basis of the said PCs.
Therefore, there is no change in the extent and status of PCs after 2009 General
Election. Further, the total number of PCs allotted to various States and UTs,
including SC/ ST seats continues to be the same. Similarly, General Elections to
the Legislative Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim shall be held
on the basis of the extent of Assembly Constituencies (ACs) as per 2008
Delimitation Order, as mentioned above. The total number of ACs allotted to these
States including SC/ ST seats shall continue to be the same.
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ELECTORAL ROLLS
11. Electoral Rolls have been revised with reference to 1-1-2014 as the
qualifying date and have been finally published in all States and Union Territories.
The process of continuous updation of electoral rolls will continue till the last date
of filing nominations.
12. The total electorate in the country as per final published E-rolls in reference
to 01.01.2014 is approximately 814.5 million compared to 713 million in 2009. This
marks an increase of more than 100 million electors. There has been a
remarkable increase in the enrollment of electors in the age group of 18 to 19
years. Over 23 million electors are in this age group. Electors in the age group of
18 to 19 years now constitute 2.88% of total electors, against 0.75% in 2009.
Commission allowed enrollment of transgender persons with gender written as
"Others" in the electoral rolls since 2012. The number of electors enrolled as
"Others" gender is 28,314. Parliament amended the Representation of the People
Act, 1950, allowing enrollment of Indian citizens living overseas as electors.
11,844 overseas electors have been enrolled in the current electoral rolls. There
are 13,28,621 service electors in the electoral rolls.
PHOTO ELECTORAL ROLLS AND ELECTOR PHOTO IDENTITY CARDS
(EPIC)
13. The country had gone to polls with Photo Electoral Rolls for the first time in
2009. In that year the State of Assam, Jammu & Kashmir and Nagaland did not
have Photo Electoral Rolls (PERs), and Elector Photo Identity Cards (EPICs) were
not distributed to electors in Assam and Nagaland. Now all States and UTs have
PERs Rolls. Photographs of 98.64% electors are already printed in the electoral
rolls. 95.64% electors have been given EPIC. The percentage of electors with
EPIC and photographs in electoral rolls is likely to increase further before the
elections. 17 States and UTs, viz. Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Goa, Daman &
Diu, NCT of Delhi, Lakshadweep, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Tamil
Nadu, Tripura, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Dadra & Nagar
Haveli and Kerala have photographs of 100% electors in the electoral rolls. 16
States and UTs have 100% EPIC coverage. These are - Andhra Pradesh, West
Bengal, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, NCT of Delhi, Laskhadweep, Puducherry,
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Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Kerala. Remaining electors are advised to submit their
photographs to obtain their EPIC from the concerned Electoral Registration Officer
(ERO) urgently. CEOs have been directed to maximize photo and EPIC coverage
in the electoral rolls before the elections.
MEASURES FOR FACILITATING FRANCHISE OF EPIC HOLDERS – SPECIAL
CAMPS TO BE ORGANISED
14. Commission has received complaints that some persons having EPIC have
in the past been denied the right to vote because their name was not found in the
electoral rolls. It is clarified here that only those persons are allowed to vote at a
Polling Station who are enrolled in the electoral roll for that Polling Station. EPIC is
only an identity document and does not confer the right of vote on any person,
whose name is not in the electoral roll. It is also clarified that the law does not
allow inclusion of names in the electoral roll after 3.00 PM on the last date of filing
nominations, till the electoral process is complete. All persons are, therefore,
advised that they must check that their names are in electoral rolls. Facility of
checking is provided on the website of Chief Electoral Officers. Facility to check
the names in electoral rolls through SMS has also been provided. The number on
which SMS is to be sent is different for each State and shall be publicized by Chief
Electoral Officers. In addition, the Commission has directed that a special camp
shall be organized at all Polling Stations on 9
th
March, 2014 (Sunday) for this
purpose. In this camp, the electoral roll for that Polling Station shall be pasted on
the wall of the Polling Station and shall also be read out in public, so that people
can check that their name is in the electoral roll. If the name of any person eligible
to be enrolled is left out for some reason or has been wrongly deleted, such a
person should immediately fill application for inclusion of name in Form 6 and
hand it over to the Booth Level Officer (BLO), who will be present in the camp at
the Polling Station. The BLO shall then deliver the form to the ERO, who will
include the name if the applicant is found eligible to be enrolled as an elector.
INTENSIVE MONITORING OF ELECTORAL ROLLS BY THE COMMISSION
15. Commission has put in place a mechanism of daily monitoring of electoral
rolls during the period of continuous updation. Instructions have been given that
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there shall be no suo motu deletion of names after final publication of electoral
rolls. EROs have been directed that they must consult the District Election Officer
(DEO) on all deletions after final publication of e-rolls; further, no deletion or
modification shall be done, after 10 days of announcement of elections, without
prior approval of the Commission.
MEASURES TO PREVENT IMPERSONATION OF ABSENTEE VOTERS
16. BLOs shall do a door to door survey and prepare a list of voters found
absent from the place of their ordinary residence. Similarly, names of shifted and
dead voters shall also be added to this list by BLOs. This list of Absent, Shifted or
Dead (ASD) voters shall be given to the Presiding Officers on the poll day.
Commission has issued instructions that voting will be allowed only after proper
identification of voters. Identification shall be done on the basis of EPIC or Photo
Voter Slips issued by the Commission or other alternative identity documents
permitted by the Commission. Presiding Officers are required to double check the
identity of voters whose names are on the ASD list.
POLLING STATIONS
17. Presently there are approximately 9,30,000 Polling Stations in the country,
as compared to 8,30,866 Polling Stations set up during Lok Sabha election, 2009.
This marks an increase of nearly 11.9 percent Polling Stations. This increase is
largely due to rationalization of Polling Stations, which the Commission undertook
in the recent years.
BASIC MINIMUM FACILITIES (BMF) AT POLLING STATIONS
18. The Commission has recently issued instructions to the Chief Electoral
Officers of all States/ UTs to ensure that every Polling Station is equipped with
Basic Minimum Facilities (BMF) like drinking water, shed, toilet, ramp for the
physically challenged voters and a standard voting compartment etc.
ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES (EVM)
19. The Commission has decided to use Electronic Voting Machines in all the
polling stations of the country as was done in Lok Sabha Elections in 2004 and
2009. There are 14,68,430 Control Units (CUs) and 14,95,430 Ballot Units (BUs)
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available in the country. Apart from this, manufacturers have been asked to
manufacture and supply 2,51,650 Control Units and 3,82,876 Ballot Units, which
are expected to be received by 31st
March, 2014. With this, the country will have
17,20,080 Control Units and 18,78,306 Ballot Units. First Level Checking (FLC) of
the available EVMs has been started in all the States/ UTs and has been
completed in many places.
20. Commission has put in place several administrative safeguards for EVMs.
These include, sealing of CU and BU with Pink Paper seals specially
manufactured by Security Printing Press, Nasik; two stage randomization; mock
poll by casting 1000 votes in at least 5% EVMs both during FLC and preparation
of EVMs during candidate set operation, taking a sequential print of the 1000
votes cast during the mock poll at the preparation stage and showing it to
representatives of political parties and candidates; mock poll by casting at least 50
votes on poll day, multiple thread seals on the EVM and green paper seal on the
result section of the CU after mock poll. All of this is done in the presence of
political party representatives and candidates, and their signatures are obtained
on the seals and in the registers kept for this purpose. Polled EVMs are
transported under armed escort and stored in strong rooms with a double lock
system and guarded 24x7 by armed police. There is CCTV coverage of strong
rooms and political parties and candidates are also allowed to keep a watch on
them, round the clock.
VOTER VERIFIABLE PAPER AUDIT TRAIL (VVPAT)
21. The Commission has also decided to use Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trial
(VVPAT) system in the General Election to the House of the People, 2014, in
some of the Constituencies, subject to availability of number of units. Presently,
Commission has 600 units of VVPAT and another 20,000 units have been ordered
and are likely to be received by 31st March, 2014.
NONE OF THE ABOVE (NOTA) OPTION IN EVMs
22. In its judgement dated 27th
September, 2013 in Writ Petition (C) No. 161 of
2004, the Supreme Court has directed that there should be a “None of the Above”
(NOTA) option on the ballot papers and EVMs and that the same should be
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implemented ‘either in a phased manner or at a time with the assistance of
Government of India’. For implementing the NOTA option, the Commission has
issued detailed instructions to the Chief Electoral Officers of all States/ UTs.
23. On the BUs, below the name of the last candidate, there will now be a
button for NOTA option so that electors who do not want to vote for any of the
candidates can exercise their option by pressing the button against NOTA.
24. The Commission is taking steps to bring this option to the knowledge of
voters and all other stakeholders and to train all field level officials including the
polling personnel about the NOTA option.
USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
25. Commission uses Information Technology (IT) in a big way for three
important purposes. These are - providing easier access to electors for service
delivery, greater transparency and better election management. Examples of use
of IT for easier access to service delivery include on-line application forms for
inclusion of names and modifications and deletion of entries in electoral rolls;
facility for electoral search on the website of CEOs and through SMS; Polling
Station locations on maps on ECI website; use of Call centre with 1950 as the
phone number for public grievances, etc. IT will be used to increase transparency
by putting affidavits of candidates on website, electoral rolls in PDF form on the
website, use of webcasting from Polling Stations, etc. Commission will use IT for
better management of elections by applications such as SMS based poll
monitoring, Election Monitoring dashboard for officers at all levels, EVM tracking
through software, etc.
MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT
26. Consequent on the announcement of the Schedule for the General
Elections through this Press Note, the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the
Guidance of Political Parties and Candidates comes into operation with immediate
effect from today itself in the entire country. This will be applicable to all Political
Parties and to the Union and State Governments and UT Administrations. In
pursuance of the judgement of Supreme Court dated 5
th
July 2013, in SLP(C) no
21455 of 2008 (S.Subramaniam Balaji vs Govt of T.N. & others) the Election
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Commission has framed Guidelines on Election Manifesto in consultation with
recognized Political Parties. These Guidelines have been incorporated as part VIII
of “Model Code of Conduct for Guidance of Political Parties & Candidates” and
shall be applicable & implemented in Lok Sabha Elections - 2014 as part of MCC
and for all future elections. The Commission calls upon all the Political Parties,
Candidates and the Union and State Governments and UT Administrations to
strictly adhere to the MCC. The Commission has made elaborate arrangements
for ensuring the effective implementation of the MCC Guidelines. Any violations of
these Guidelines would be strictly dealt with and the Commission re-emphasises
that the instructions issued in this regard from time to time should be read and
understood by all Political Parites, contesting candidates and their agents/
representatives, to avoid any misgivings or lack of information or understanding/
interpretation.
AFFIDAVITS BY CANDIDATES
27. All the candidates will be required to file an affidavit (in Form 26) along with
their nomination papers. This affidavit will include information on the criminal
antecedents of the candidate, if any, assets (including the movable, immovable
properties and investments even in foreign countries, of the candidate, his/ her
spouse and dependents), liabilities of the candidate, his/ her spouse and
dependents and his/ her educational qualifications. The filing of the affidavit is
mandatory and its non-filing will result in rejection of the nomination paper by the
Returning Officer. The Commission is making arrangements for optional e-filing of
the affidavit by the candidates. After e-filing, the hardcopy of the affidavit is
required to be got notorised by the candidate and submitted to the Returning
Officer. The e-filing system will help candidates in filling up the information in the
affidavit in correct manner, without any omission.
28. In pursuance of the judgment of the Supreme Court dated 13th
September,
2013, in Writ Petition (C) No. 121 of 2008, which inter-alia makes it obligatory for
the Returning Officer “to check whether the information required is fully furnished
at the time of filing of affidavit with the nomination paper”, the Commission has
issued instructions that in the affidavit to be filed along with the nomination paper,
candidates are required to fill up all columns. If any column in the affidavit is left
blank, the Returning Officer will issue a notice to the candidate to submit a fresh
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affidavit, duly filling up all columns. After such notice, if the candidate fails to file
the affidavit, complete in all respects, the nomination paper will be liable to be
rejected at the time of scrutiny. The Chief Electoral Officers have been directed to
brief all Returning Officers about the judgment of the Supreme Court and the
Commission’s instructions.
29. As part of the efforts of the Commission to widely disseminate the
information contained in the affidavits filed by contesting candidates to the citizens
at the earliest, instructions have been issued to the Returning Officers to display
the copies of these affidavits on notice-boards outside their offices and to make
available, on demand, the copies of the affidavit freely to other candidates,
general public, media, etc. on the very day of filing of affidavit by a candidate.
Further, Commission has issued instructions for displaying copies of the abstract
part of the affidavit of contesting candidates at various public offices within the
Constituency such as Collectorate, Zila Parishad Office, Panchayat Samiti Office
etc. The scanned copies of these affidavits will also be uploaded on the website of
CEOs for public viewing and any member of the public can download such copies
of affidavits.
30. The Commission appeals to the citizens, the media and all the interested
parties to cooperate with the election authorities for the widest dissemination of
this information as contemplated in the directions of the Courts and the
Commission.
POLLING PARTIES AND RANDOMIZATION
31. Polling Parties shall be formed randomly, through a special application
software. Three-stage randomization will be adopted. First, from a wider District
database of eligible officials, a shortlist of a minimum 120% of the required
numbers will be randomly picked up. This group will be trained for polling duties.
In the second stage, from this trained manpower, actual polling parties as required
shall be formed by random selection software in the presence of General
Observers. In the third randomization, the polling stations will be allocated
randomly just before the polling party’s departure. There shall be randomization
for such Police Constables and Home guards also, who are deployed at the
Polling Stations on the poll day.
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COMMUNICATION PLAN
32. The Commission attaches great importance to preparation and
implementation of a perfect communication plan at the District/ Constituency level
for the smooth conduct of elections and to enable concurrent intervention and
mid-course correction on the poll day. For the said purpose, the Commission has
directed the Chief Electoral Officers to coordinate with the officers of
Telecommunication Department in the State/ UT headquarters, BSNL/ MTNL
authorities, the representatives of other leading service providers in the State so
that network status in the State is assessed and communication shadow areas are
identified. The CEOs have also been advised to ensure best communication plan
in their States/ UTs.
VIDEOGRAPHY
33. All critical events will be video-graphed. District Election Officers will
arrange sufficient number of video and digitial cameras and camera teams for the
purpose. The events for videography will include filing of nominations, scrutiny
thereof and allotment of symbols, FLC, preparation and storage of EVMs,
important public meetings, processions etc. during campaign, process of
dispatching Postal Ballot papers, polling process in identified vulnerable Polling
Stations, storage of polled EVMs, counting of votes etc. Digital cameras will also
be deployed inside Polling Stations, wherever needed and inside all counting
centers. CDs of video recordings will be available on payment to anyone who
wishes to obtain a copy of the same.
LAW AND ORDER AND DEPLOYMENT OF FORCES
34. Conduct of elections involves elaborate security management. It includes
ensuring the security of polling personnel and materials, security at the polling
stations and also the overall security of the election process. CAPFs are deployed
for area domination prior to poll in order to build confidence in the minds of voters
specially vulnerable voters viz. SCs/ STs/ weaker sections, minorities etc. Taking
all these into consideration, the Poll Schedule, sequencing of the Poll Days and
PCs to be covered on each Poll Day had to follow the logic of force availability and
force management.
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35. The Commission has taken various measures to ensure free and fair
elections by creating an atmosphere in which each elector is able to access the
polling station, without being obstructed or being unduly influenced/ intimidated by
anybody.
36. Based on the assessment of the ground situation, CAPFs and State Armed
Police (SAP) drawn from other States will be deployed during the ensuing General
Elections. The CAPFs and SAP will be used generally for safeguarding the Polling
Stations and for providing security to the electors and polling personnel at the
Polling Stations on the poll day. Besides, these forces will be used for securing
the strong rooms where the EVMs are stored, the counting centers and for other
purposes, as required.
37. The Commission has been issuing instructions, from time to time, with
regard to the advance preventive measures to be taken by the District Magistrates
and Police authorities to maintain the Law & Order and to create an atmosphere
conducive for the conduct of free and fair elections. The Commission will be
constantly monitoring the ground situation closely and will take appropriate
measures to ensure peaceful, free and fair polls in all the States/ UTs.
PROTECTION TO SC/ ST ELECTORS
38. As per Section 3(1)(vii) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, whoever, not being a member of a Scheduled
Caste or Scheduled Tribe, forces or intimidates a member of a Scheduled Caste
or a Scheduled Tribe not to vote or to vote for a particular candidate or to vote in a
manner other than that provided by law shall be punishable with imprisonment for
a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to five years
and with fine. The Commission has asked the State Governments to bring these
provisions to the notice of all concerned for prompt action.
GENERAL OBSERVERS
39. The Commission will deploy General Observers in adequate number to
ensure smooth conduct of elections. The Observers will be asked to keep a close
watch on every stage of the electoral process to ensure free and fair elections.
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EXPENDITURE OBSERVERS
40. Expenditure Observers from Central Government Services would be
appointed to keep a close watch on election expenditure of the candidates and to
ensure that no inducement is offered to the electors during the entire election
process for exercise of their franchise.
41. The names, addresses within the District/ Constituency and telephone
numbers of all Observers (General as well as Expenditure) will be publicized in
local newspapers so that the general public can quickly approach them for any
grievance redressal. The Observers will be given a detailed briefing by the
Commission before their deployment.
POLICE OBSERVERS
42. The Commission has decided to deploy IPS officers as Police Observers at
State and District levels, depending upon the sensitivity of the Constituency,
wherever required. They will monitor all activities relating to force deployment, law
and order situation and co-ordinate between the Civil and Police administration to
ensure free and fair election.
AWARENESS OBSERVERS
43. For the first time in Lok Sabha Elections, the Commission will deploy
Central Awareness Observers to oversee the efficient and effective management
of the electoral process at the field level, mainly in respect of voter awareness and
facilitation. Awareness Observers will be deployed in two phases of seven days
each and shall observe the interventions undertaken by the election machinery to
bridge the gap in people’s participation in the electoral process particularly in
regard to voters’ turnout. They shall also monitor the various media related
aspects of RP Act 1951 and observe the mechanism directed by the Commission
at District levels on checking the problem of ‘Paid News’.
MICRO OBSERVERS
44. In addition to General Observers, the Commission will also deploy Micro
Observers to observe the poll proceedings on the poll day in selected critical
polling stations. They will be chosen from Central Government/ Central PSUs
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officials. Micro-Observers will verify the BMF at the Polling stations and certify the
same before start of polling. They will observe the proceedings at the Polling
Stations on the poll day right from the mock poll to the completion of poll and the
process of sealing of EVMs and other documents to ensure that all instructions of
the Commission are complied with by the Polling Parties and the Polling Agents.
They will also report to the General Observers directly about vitiation of the poll
proceedings, if any, in their allotted Polling Stations.
ASSISTANT EXPENDITURE OBSERVERS
45. In addition to Expenditure Observers, Assistant Expenditure Observers will
be appointed for each Assembly segment to ensure that all major election
campaign events are videographed and complaints of electoral malpractices are
promptly attended.
TRAINING OF ELECTION OFFICIALS
46. Training of election machinery is an important part of Election
Management. Preparatory training for these General Elections have been
imparted to Officials and Master Trainers of various levels and categories over the
past year and are continuing. The endeavour of the Commission is to ensure that
every person working in relation to these Elections is trained and prepared to
discharge his or her responsibilities in an error-free manner, impartially and
faithfully implementing the various guidelines and instructions of the Commission,
in the field.
CONDUCT OF OFFICIALS
47. The Commission expects all officials engaged in the conduct of elections to
discharge their duties in an impartial manner, without any fear or favour. They are
deemed to be on deputation to the Commission and shall be subject to its control,
supervision and discipline. The conduct of all Government Officials who have
been entrusted with election related responsibilities and duties would remain
under constant scrutiny of the Commission and strict action shall be taken against
those officials who are found wanting on any account.
48. The Commission has already given instructions that no election related
official or Police officer of the rank of Inspector and above shall be allowed to
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continue in his/ her home district. Besides, instructions have also been issued that
election related officials including police officials of Inspector level and above who
have completed three years in a district during last four years should be
transferred out of that district. Police Officers of the rank of Sub Inspectors who
have completed three years in a Sub Division/ AC or are posted in their home Sub
Division/ AC shall be transferred out of that Sub Division and the AC.
49. The Commission has also instructed the State Governments not to
associate any officer with the electoral process against whom charges have been
framed in a Court of law, in any case.
DISTRICT ELECTION PLAN
50. The District Election Officers have been asked to prepare a comprehensive
district election plan in consultation with SPs and Sector Officers including the
route plan and communication plan for conduct of elections. These plans will be
vetted by the Observers taking into account vulnerability mapping exercise and
mapping of critical polling station in accordance with Election Commission of
India’s extant instructions.
PHOTO VOTER SLIPS
51. To facilitate the voters to know where he/ she is enrolled as a voter at a
particular polling station and what is his/ her serial number in the Electoral Roll,
the Commission has directed that Voter Slip along with Photo (wherever present
in the roll) will be distributed to all enrolled voters by the DEO. It has also been
directed that the said Voter Slip should be in the languages in which electoral roll
is published for that AC. These Voter Slips will also be accepted as identity proof
of voters at Polling Stations.
COMPLAINT REDRESSAL MECHANISM – CALL CENTRE AND WEBSITE
52. All States/ UTs shall have a complaint redressal mechanism based on a
dedicated Call Centre and website. The National Call Centre number is 1950,
which is a toll free number. The URL of the complaint registration website will be
announced for each State/ UT by the respective Chief Electoral Officer separately.
Complaints can be registered by making calls to the toll free Call Centre number
or on the website. Action will be taken within a time limit on all complaints.
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Complainants will also be informed of the action taken, by SMS, if they have
registered their Mobile Phone number and also by the Call Centre. Complainants
can also see the details of the action taken on their complaints, on the website.
ELECTION EXPENDITURE MONITORING
53. Election Commission has issued several instructions to curb the abuse of
money power during the elections. These measures, inter alia, include
deployment of Flying Squads, Static Surveillance Teams, Accounting Teams and
Video Surveillance Teams, at AC level, to check distribution of cash or any other
bribe among electors as well as setting up of Media Certification and Monitoring
Committee, in each district, to keep a watch on election advertisements and Paid
News by the candidates and Political Parties. Commission has also ordered that
Shadow Observation Register shall be maintained for the election expenditure of
each candidate and after each inspection of the candidate’s accounts, the same
shall be scanned and uploaded on the website of the CEO, for public viewing.
54. Each candidate is required to open a separate bank account for election
purpose and incur all election expenses from the said bank account, by issuing
cheques. Besides, a campaign to spread awareness among the electors on
ethical voting will be launched, after the announcement of election.
55. The Commission shall take effective measures to monitor production,
storage and distribution of liquor during elections. The Commission has asked the
Income Tax Department and the Financial Intelligence Unit of Government of
India to keep watch on movement of cash during elections. The Political Parties
and candidates are advised to exercise self-restraint in their spending during
elections and submit correct accounts of election expenses to the Commission.
CEILING OF ELECTION EXPENSES FOR CANDIDATES
56. The election expenses ceiling for candidates has been revised by the
Government of India vide Notification dated 28th
February, 2014. As per the
revised ceilings, the maximum limit of election expenses for a Lok Sabha
Constituency is Rs.70.00 lakh per candidate for all States except Arunachal
Pradesh, Goa and Sikkim. For these three States it is Rs.54.00 lakh per
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candidate. For the Union Territories, the maximum limit is Rs.70 lakh per
candidate for NCT of Delhi and Rs.54.00 lakh per candidate for other UTs.
57. For the Assembly Constituencies, the maximum limit is Rs.28.00 lakh per
candidate for the bigger States and NCT of Delhi and Rs.20.00 lakh per candidate
in the other States and Union Territory of Puducherry. Accordingly, in Andhra
Pradesh and Odisha the limit of expenses for Assembly Constituencies is
Rs.28.00 lakh per candidate and in Sikkim it is Rs.20.00 lakh per candidate.
ACCOUNTS OF CANDIDATES
58. It is mandatory under the election law for every contesting candidate to
maintain and furnish a separate and true account of his/ her election expenditure.
Under Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 only the
expenses on account of travel of leaders or Star Campaigners of any Political
Party concerned (whose names are communicated to the Commission and the
CEO of the State/ UT within the prescribed period of 7 days from the date of
notification) will be exempted from being included in the account of expenses of a
candidate. All other expenses – incurred/ authorized for election campaign of the
candidate are required to be included in the account of the candidate.
59. The Commission has already issued detailed guidelines on the manner in
which accounts are to be maintained and submitted by the candidates and it is
incumbent upon them to maintain a daily account of expenditure and to submit it
for inspection to the Designated Officer/ Election Observer three times during the
campaign period. To strengthen the monitoring of expenses, the Commission has
taken special steps. A separate election expenditure monitoring division has been
set up in the Commission to deal with information on poll expenses of the
candidates and political parties. To assist the candidates, the Commission has
prepared e-learning modules for maintaining their election expense accounts, and
such modules are freely accessible on the Commission’s Website.
ACCOUNTS BY POLITICAL PARTIES
60. All Political parties sponsoring candidates for the elections are required to
maintain day to day accounts for all election campaign expenses and submit the
accounts to the Commission within 90 days of Lok Sabha Elections and 75 days
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of Assembly Elections. Such accounts will be uploaded on the website of the
Commission for public viewing.
VOTER PARTICIPATION
61. The Election Commission of India launched its Systematic Voters’
Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme in end-2009 to
enhance people’s participation in the electoral process. In these four and a half
years various initiatives were undertaken to streamline the process of voter
registration to facilitate citizens. Initiatives were also taken in the General
Elections to the Assemblies of 23 States/ UTs since 2009 to make voting
experience easy, accessible and voter friendly as well as remove the gaps both in
information and motivation related to registration and voting through systematic
interventions. These have given encouraging results, which are visible.
62. Comprehensive measures for voters’ education and awareness were taken
up during the Summary Roll Revision process (in October – December 2013)
across the country. These measures will continue during the electoral process.
Chief Electoral Officers have been directed to ensure wide dissemination of
election related information and also for carrying out Voter Education campaigns
as well as adequate facilitation measures for ensuring wider participation of
people in polling. State and District SVEEP plans have been approved by the
Commission based on situation analysis on voter participation at the micro-level
and these are being implemented in partnership with a host of governmental and
non-governmental departments and agencies, corporate and media. Targeted
interventions have been taken up to meet shortfall in turnout among various
segments of population at polling station levels. Commission looks forward to
continued support of all partner agencies and departments for enhanced turnout
in the Lok Sabha polls.
63. All arrangements and facilities will be in place to make voting a smooth and
friendly experience. Voter-helplines, Voters’ Facilitation Centres, web and SMS
based search facilities are active for assistance of voters. There are special
facilities in place for women, for the aged, for the physically challenged or for
those with special needs.
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MEDIA ENGAGEMENT
64. Commission has always found media as an important ally in election
management. Hence, in conduct of Lok Sabha election, an efficient structure for
information dissemination to media has been created at the Commission, State
and District levels. Commission will ensure timely and due access to election
related data and information by media. Authority Letters will be issued to all
accredited Media for the polling day and the day of counting. Commission expects
the media to play a positive and pro-active role in supplementing election
management in delivery of a free, fair, transparent, peaceful and participative
election.
65. At the same time, Commission has created District and State level Media
Certification and Monitoring Committees (MCMCs) to deal with the problem of
Paid News and other media related violations, besides carrying out the existing
provisions of pre-certification of political advertisements. Such mechanism will be
at work for the first time in a Lok Sabha General election. Again, for the first time,
the use of social media for election campaigning has been subjected to similar
conditions, as that applies to use of other electronic media.
SCHEDULE
66. The Commission, after taking into account all relevant factors, has finalized
the Schedule for General Elections to be held on 9 Poll days to constitute the 16th
Lok Sabha. Details of Poll Days and corresponding Schedules are given at
Statement-A. An abstract of number of Parliamentary Constituencies voting on
different Polling Dates in States and Union Territories is given at Statement-B.
State/ UT-wise Schedule indicating the number and names of the Parliamentary
Constituencies are given in alphabetical order of States and UTs in Statement-C.
The Schedule for Legislative Assembly Elections for the 3 States, viz. Andhra
Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim is given at Statement-D. The Schedule for Assembly
Constituencies in each of these three States, Poll Day wise, is given at
Statements E, F and G respectively.
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66. The Highlights of the Schedules are indicated below:
POLL DAYS – GENERAL ELECTIONS, 2014
POLL
DAY
DATE OF POLL NUMBER OF
STATES &
UNION
TERRITORIES
NUMBER OF
PARLIAMENTARY
CONSTITUENCIES
1 07.04.2014 2 6
2 09.04.2014 5 7
3 10.04.2014 14 92
4 12.04.2014 3 5
5 17.04.2014 13 122
6 24.04.2014 12 117
7 30.04.2014 9 89
8 07.05.2014 7 64
9 12.05.2014 3 41
TOTAL PARLIAMENTARY
CONSTITUENCIES
543
TOTAL NUMBER OF POLL DAYS IN STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES
TOTAL NO. OF POLL DAYS STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES
6 2
5 2
3 5
2 5
1 21
67. Counting will take place on 16.05.2014 (Friday) and is expected to be
completed on the same day.
68. The Commission has decided to forward its recommendations to the
President of India, for issuing 10 Notifications calling upon the Parliamentary
Constituencies covered on each Poll Day in the States and Union Territories
concerned to elect members to the House of the People. With this, the campaign
days for the Constituencies for each Poll Day have been kept to the possible
minimum.
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GENERAL ELECTIONS TO LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES
69. The Commission has taken into account the fact that the tenure of the
Legislative Assemblies of the States of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim will
expire on 02.06.2014, 07.06.2014 and 21.05.2014 respectively. It is also
conscious of the fact that a new Assembly in Sikkim has to be constituted before
22nd
May, 2014.
70. After taking into account all relevant factors, the Commission has decided
to hold elections for new Legislative Assemblies for these three States,
simultaneously with the General Elections to the 16th
Lok Sabha. Elections to the
different Assembly Constituencies in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha
will follow the same Schedule as for the corresponding Parliamentary
Constituencies of which these are the relevant Assembly segments. For elections
to the Legislative Assembly of Sikkim, the same Schedule as for the
corresponding Parliamentary Constituency will be followed for all stages up to the
date of counting. The Commission has decided to forward its recommendations to
the Governors of these three States, for issuing Notifications (under Section 15 of
the Representation of the People Act, 1951), calling upon the respective
Legislative Assembly Constituencies to elect members to the concerned
Legislative Assemblies, as per Schedule appended hereto at Statement-D.
BYE ELECTIONS TO LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES
71. There are 23 casual vacancies in Legislative Assemblies of 8 States, as on
03.03.2014. In regard to provisions of Section 151A of the Representation of the
People Act, 1951, the Commission has decided to hold bye-elections to these 23
Assembly Constituencies following the same schedule as for the relevant
Parliamentary Constituency. Details of the Assembly Constituencies and the Day/
Date of poll are given in Statement-H.
72. Elections, free, fair, peaceful and participative, are the life force of
democracy. By virtue of holding its first national election in 1952 India achieved
the status of the world’s largest liberal democracy. Credible democratic elections
at stipulated intervals have since enabled our nation, starting with deep- rooted
social hierarchies and developmental backlog, to undertake a peaceful
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transformative journey for inclusion and empowerment of the common citizen and,
thereby, become an inspiration to the whole world.
73. On the occasion of the 16th
Lok Sabha Elections, the Commission:
- Reassures the nation of its solemn resolve and deep commitment to fulfill
its constitutional mandate to conduct free, fair, credible elections;
- Exhorts the eleven million plus election machinery to rededicate
themselves to the tasks associated with the conduct of elections as a
sacred duty;
- Appeals to all stakeholders and in particular, the political parties and
candidates, to uphold the peerless democratic traditions of the nation by
maintaining high standards of political discourse and fair play in course of
their election campaigns; and
- Calls upon all voters to reinforce the democratic ethos of the nation by
turning up at polling stations and exercising their right to vote in an
informed and ethical manner.
(R.BALAKRISHNAN)
Deputy Election Commissioner 23
SCHEDULE OF GENERAL ELECTIONS – 2014
EXPLANATORY NOTE ON STATEMENTS
The Statements appended to the Press Note contain various terms and abbreviations, which are explained
below:
Statement-A:
Poll Days signify the number assigned to a particular day on which Polling is to take place, in the
National Schedule for Lok Sabha elections. The first Poll Day of the nation is 7th
April, 2014
(Monday) and the ninth (last) Poll Day is 12th
May, 2014 (Monday).
Every reference to a Poll Day in the Press Note invariably refers to the Poll Day of the National
Schedule.
Each Poll Day has a corresponding single Schedule except Poll Day 3, which has two Schedules 3A
and 3B, necessitated due to local holiday on 22nd
March, 2014(Saturday) in Bihar State.
Statement-B:
State/UT-wise abstract of number of Parliamentary Constituencies (PCs) voting on different Poll
Days and the corresponding Date and Day of the week for all the 543 PCs.
Abstract of State/UTs voting from a Single Poll Date to a maximum of Six Poll Dates.
Statement-C:
Complete Schedule (with Poll Event-wise dates) for each PC with its Number, Name and Type and
corresponding Schedule Number (1 to 9) for all 35 States/UTs in their alphabetical order.
Statement-D
Abstract of Poll Days and Corresponding Schedules for 3 State Legislative Assemblies viz. Andhra
Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim.
Statements E, F and G:
Complete Schedule (with Poll Event-wise dates) for each Assembly Constituency (AC) with its
Number, Name and Type and applicable Schedule(s) Number for the States of Andhra Pradesh,
Odisha and Sikkim respectively.
Statement-H:
Details of Bye-elections to fill up 23 casual vacancies in Legislative Assemblies of 8 States with AC
Number, Name and corresponding Date of Poll of the PC of which these ACs are a segment.
