“Largest, grandest democratic festival of the world”: Jaishankar after LS polls notified

New Delhi [India]: After the announcement of the dates for the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said it has set the ball rolling on the “largest and grandest democratic festival of the world”.

Earlier, on Saturday, the Election Commission (EC) announced that the general elections would be held across seven phases, with the first on April 19. The counting of votes has been scheduled for June 4, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar informed.
Taking to his official X handle, the External Affairs Minister posted, “The announcement of General Elections by the Election Commission of India starts the process of largest and grandest democratic festival of the world.”

“The BJP led NDA alliance, under the able leadership of Prime Minister @narendramodi-ji will participate with full confidence and enthusiasm. It is an opportunity to further strengthen our commitment to serve the people of the nation and make India a developed nation,” Jaishankar added.

The last date for filing nominations for the first phase of polling is March 27, the Election Commission informed, adding that voting for the Lower House of Parliament in Phase 1 would be conducted across 21 states and Union Territories.

Phase 2 of the elections will be held on April 26, with the last date for filing nominations scheduled for April 4. The second phase will cover 12 states as well as UTs.
The third phase of polling will be held on May 7, the election watchdog said, adding that nominations could be filed till April 19. The third phase of voting will cover 12 states as well as UTs.

Phase 4 of the elections will be held on May 13, with the last date for candidates to file nominations scheduled for April 25. Polling in the fourth phase will be held across 10 states and UTs.

The fifth phase has been scheduled for May 20 and the last date for candidates to file their nomination papers is May 3. Polling in this phase will cover 8 states and UTs.
The last two phases of the elections have been scheduled for May 25 and June 1 respectively, the poll panel stated, adding that the last date for filing nominations for these phases is May 6 and May 14.

The sixth phase will cover 7 states and UTs while the final phase will see polling across 8 states and UTs.