The 2019 Indian general election is currently being held in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to

constitute the 17th Lok Sabha. The counting of votes will be conducted on 23 May, and on the same day the results
will be declared.[1][2][3][4] About 900 million Indian citizens are eligible to vote in one of the seven phases depending on
the region.
Legislative Assembly elections in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim will be held
simultaneously with the general election.[5][6]

Electoral system

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All 543 elected MPs will be elected from single-member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting. The
President of India nominates an additional two members from the Anglo-Indian community if he believes the
community is under-represented.[7]
Eligible voters must be Indian citizens, 18 or older, an ordinary resident of the polling area of the constituency and
possess a valid voter identification card issued by the Election Commission of India. Some people convicted of
electoral or other offences are barred from voting.[8]
The elections are being held on schedule and per the constitution of India that mandates parliamentary elections
once every five years.[9]The details of the elections were announced by Election Commission of India (ECI) on 10
March 2019, after which Model Code of Conduct regulations for the elections came into immediate effect.[10]

Election schedule
The election schedule was announced on 10 March 2019, and with it
the Model Code of Conduct came into force.[11]

Election schedule

The election is scheduled to be held in seven phases, with counting starting on

23 May. In Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, the election will be held in
all seven phases. The polling for the Anantnag constituency in the state of
Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases, the first of its kind, due to
violence in the region that had prompted the ECI to cancel a bypoll in 2016,
leaving it vacant since then
Rescheduled voting, cancellations

 Vellore, Tamil Nadu: Over ₹11 crore (US$1.6 million) in cash was seized in Vellore from DMK leaders – a
regional party in Tamil Nadu. According to the News Minute, this cash is alleged to have been for bribing the
voters.[13] Based on the evidence collected during the raids, the Election Commission of India cancelled the April
18 election date in the Vellore constituency. The DMK leaders have denied wrongdoing and alleged a
conspiracy.[14]
 Tripura East, Tripura: The Election Commission of India deferred polling from April 18 to 23 due to the law and
order situation. The poll panel took the decision following reports from the Special Police Observers that the
circumstances were not conducive for holding free and fair elections in the constituency

Campaigning
Main article: Campaigning in the 2019 Indian general election

Issues
Alleged institutional undermining
During the election campaign, the opposition parties have claimed that the NDA government is destroying
democratic institutions and processes. Opposition party leaders such as Mamata Banerjee have campaigned on this
issue.[16]
In response, Modi termed the allegations "a big joke", commenting that Congress and the communists had
themselves undermined institutions including the police, CBI and the CAG, and cited the murder of BJP activists in
Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.[17]
Economic performance
According to The Times of India, the major economic achievements of the incumbent NDA government include an
inflation rate less than 4 percent, the GST reform, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, its programs in recent years
that have positively touched many among the Indian masses, programs such as the Jan Dhan Yojana, rural cooking
gas and electricity for homes.[18] According to the IMF, the Indian economy has been growing in recent years, its
GDP growth rate is among the highest in the world for major economies, and India is expected to be the fastest
growing major economy in 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, with real GDP projected to grow at 7.3 percent.[19][20][21] The
GDP growth data has been disputed[18] by a group of Indian social scientists, economists and the political
opposition's election campaign, while a group of Indian chartered accountants has defended the data, the GDP
calculation methodology, and questioned the motivations of those disputing the recent Indian GDP statistics.[22]
The opposition's election campaign has claimed that both the demonetization and GST law have "seriously hit small
business, farmers and casual labor", states The Times of India.[18][23] The incumbent has claimed that they inherited a
country from the previous Congress-led government that was "a legacy of policy paralysis, corruption and economic
fragility", and that the BJP-led government policies have placed India on better economic fundamentals and a fast
gear.[24] Modi claims that his government pursued demonetization in the national interest, his government has
identified and de-registered 338,000 shell companies, identified and recovered ₹1,300,000,000,000 (US$19 billion)
in black money since 2014, and almost doubled India's tax base.[25][26] The Congress party disputes the incumbents
claims, and has alleged that BJP offices have "become hubs of creating black money", and seeks a judicial inquiry
into the Rafale deal with France and BJP's role in corruption.[27]
Income tax raids
In April 2019, raids conducted by the Income Tax department found bundles of unaccounted for cash amounting to
₹281 crore, along with liquor and documentary evidence in premises of people with close connections to Madhya
Pradesh

Party campaigns
Bharatiya Janata Party
Main article: Bharatiya Janata Party campaign for the 2019 Indian general election

On 12 January 2019, prime minister Narendra Modi launched the Bharatiya Janata Party's election campaign, which
sought a second term.[70]
Indian National Congress
Main article: Indian National Congress campaign for the 2019 Indian general election

The Indian National Congress Party president Rahul Gandhi launched his election campaign from Gujarat's Lal
Dungri site where other members of the Nehru dynasty began their general elections campaign, including his
grandmother Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv Gandhi.[71]
Other parties
See also: Mahagathbandhan

 On 7 April 2019, two arch rival political parties Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party began campaigning
together as an alliance (gathbandhan) along with smaller local parties such as RLD.[72] Their first joint campaign
started in Deoband in Uttar Pradesh.[73][74]
 On 24 March 2019, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) began its 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign in Delhi.[75] The
AAP had sought to form an alliance with the Congress party in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Goa prior to starting
its 2019 Lok Sabha campaign, but they could not reach an agreement on the scope and the number of seats.[76]
 On 2 April 2019, the Trinamool Congress party – the ruling party in the state of West Bengal, launched its
campaign from Dinhata, Coochbehar.
 According to the Election Commission of India, 900 million people were eligible to vote, with an increase of
84.3 million voters since the last general election in 2014,[133][134] making this the largest-ever election in the
world.[135] 15 million voters in the age group of 18–19 years are eligible to exercise their right to vote for the
first time while 38,325 transgender individuals will be able to vote for the first time as members of the third-
sex and not as male or female.[136][137] 71,735 overseas voters have been enrolled in the electoral rolls for the
2019 Lok Sabha elections.
 In 2015, an India-Bangladesh boundary agreement was signed, in which the two countries exchanged their
enclaves that were entirely surrounded by the other's boundaries. As a result, it will be the first time in which
residents of these former enclaves vote in an Indian general election.[138]

Final voters list for Indian General Election 2019

S.No Group of voters Voters population

1 Male 468 million

2 Female 432 million

3 Third gender 38,325

Total voters 900 million