Bhubaneswar: The Election Commission of India on Saturday announced a simultaneous Assembly election in Odisha along with the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
The 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha will go to polls in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh phases of the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls — on May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.
Meanwhile, the 147 Assembly constituencies of Odisha will also vote in four phases, which will be held on the same days as the Lok Sabha polls.
2019 Lok Sabha polls and Odisha
In the realm of Odisha’s political landscape lie 21 Lok Sabha seats and 147 Assembly constituencies. During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) secured victory in 12 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed eight and the Congress clinched just one.
Simultaneously, in the Assembly elections of the same year, the BJD emerged triumphant in 112 seats, with the BJP securing 23 and the Congress managing to secure only nine.
The alliance between the BJD and the BJP has proven to be a formidable force in Odisha’s political sphere, witnessing success in two Assembly elections and three Lok Sabha polls.
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Forged in February 1998, this coalition has laid a sturdy groundwork over the years, culminating in victories in the Lok Sabha elections of 1998, 1999, and 2004, as well as in the Assembly elections of 2000 and 2004.
In the broader national context, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a remarkable 37.36 percent of the votes in the 2019 elections, marking the highest vote share achieved by any political party in India since the 1989 general election.
The BJP alone secured 303 seats, contributing to a final tally of 353 seats for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). In contrast, the Indian National Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, secured 52 seats, with the party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) achieving a total of 98 seats.
The Election Commission has announced that approximately 97 crore Indians will be eligible to vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, representing a 6 percent increase in registered voters since 2019. The electoral rolls were published nationwide in early February following an intensive Special Summary Revision 2024 process.
Efforts are underway to explore the feasibility of conducting simultaneous elections across India. Several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh, are gearing up to hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls. The terms of the Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim Assemblies are set to expire on June 11, June 2, June 24 and June 2, respectively.
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