The size of the country and its electorate is the chief reason why the general election takes so long. India is set to begin the world’s largest general elections on Friday, held in terrain sweeping from the icy Himalayas to humid jungles, with nearly a billion people eligible to choose 543 members of the lower house of parliament.
Opinion polls suggest an easy victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party when the results are announced on June 4. But more than six weeks will elapse from the time the first vote is cast on April 19 until it is counted. Number of days
The election cycle sprawls over 44 days, long even by India’s standards, as the 2019 vote lasted 39 days.
This year’s elections will be India’s second longest after the first exercise following independence in 1947 from colonial ruler Britain, which ran for four months from October 25, 1951 to February 21, 1952.
There are seven voting days this year, with Friday’s first phase seeing people cast ballots for 102 constituencies nationwide. The last polling date is June 1, covering 57 seats. All votes will be counted together on June 4.
Voter numbers The size of the country and its electorate, India’s eligible voters, at 968.6 million, number. The figure has grown eight per cent since the 2019 elections….Source:dawn.com
Saturday, May 9, 2026
