The world’s largest elections, the 2024 Indian General Elections are all set to begin starting tomorrow i.e. 19 April, 2024. The voting will take place in seven phases.
The Election Commission of India on March 16, 2024, had announced the dates for the elections in 7 Phases across India, with the result of the elections to be announced on 4 June, 2024, with almost 970 million voters casting their votes in the world’s largest democracy.
A total of 21 Indian states will be voting in the first phase of the election tomorrow.
The Phase 1 Constituencies are listed below:
- Arunachal West
- Arunachal East
- Kaziranga
- Sonitpur
- Lakhimpur
- Dibrugarh
- Jorhat
- Aurangabad
- Gaya
- Nawada
- Jamui
- Bastar
- Sidhi
- Shahdol
- Jabalpur
- Mandla
- Balaghat
- Chhindwara
- Ramtek
- Nagpur
- Bhandara – Gondiya
- Gadchiroli – Chimur
- Chandrapur
- Inner Manipur
- Outer Manipur
- Shillong
- Tura
- Mizoram
- Nagaland
- Ganganagar
- Bikaner
- Churu
- Jhunjhunu
- Sikar
- Jaipur Rural
- Jaipur
- Alwar
- Bharatpur
- Karauli-Dholpur
- Dausa
- Nagaur
- Sikkim
- Tiruvallur
- Chennai North
- Chennai South
- Chennai Central
- Sriperumbudur
- Kancheepuram
- Arakkonam
- Vellore
- Krishnagiri
- Dharampuri
- Tiruvannamalai
- Arani
- Viluppuram
- Kallakurichi
- Salem
- Namakkal
- Erode
- Tiruppur
- Nilgiris
- Coimbatore
- Pollachi
- Dindigul
- Karur
- Tiruchirappalli
- Perambalur
- Cuddalore
- Chidambaram
- Mayiladuthurai
- Nagapattinam
- Thanjavur
- Sivaganga
- Madurai
- Theni
- Virudhunagar
- Ramanathapuram
- Thoothukkudi
- Tenkasi
- Tirunelveli
- Kanniyakumari
- Tripura West
- Saharanpur
- Kairana
- Bijnor
- Muzaffarnagar
- Nagina
- Moradabad
- Rampur
- Pilibhit
- Tehri Garhwal
- Garhwal
- Almora
- Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar
- Hardwar
- Coochbehar
- Alipurduars
- Jalpaiguri
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- Udhampur
- Lakshadweep
- Puducherry
Lok Sabha Phase 1 : Analysis of the Candidates:
Forty-two of the 102 Lok Sabha seats going to polls in the general election’s first phase are constituencies that have three or more candidates facing criminal cases, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has claimed after analysing the self-sworn affidavits of 1,618 candidates out of the 1,625 contesting the elections in its first phase on 19 April. As per the analysis, 16% or 252 individuals are named in criminal cases, with 10% or 161 facing serious criminal charges.
The analysis revealed some alarming statistics, with seven candidates facing murder charges and 19 involved in attempted murder cases. Additionally, 18 candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women, including one candidate facing a rape charge under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Furthermore, 35 candidates have been linked to instances of hate speech.
Of the 102 seats going to polls in the first phase, 41% are deemed “red alert” constituencies, indicating that multiple candidates in these constituencies have criminal cases against them. The analysis highlighted that various political parties have candidates with criminal backgrounds, including all four candidates of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and a significant percentage of candidates from parties like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Samajwadi Party (SP), Trinamool Congress (TMC), Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress.
In addition to the revelations on criminal records, the ADR’s analysis also shed light on wealth disparities among candidates. About 28% of candidates in the first phase of the polls are “crorepatis,” with assets exceeding Rs 1 crore. The average assets per candidate stand at Rs 4.51 crores, with notable differences observed across party lines.
The analysis further revealed that several candidates from major parties have declared assets worth over Rs 1 crore, with Congress candidate Nakul Nath from Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh leading the list with assets worth Rs 716 crore.
(With inputs from agencies)
