6 MARCH 2014

Ø  The Lok Sabha has 543 members (excluding two nominated members), and the term of the present government ends on May 31. The nine-phase polling will be held on April 7, 9, 10, 12, 17, 24, 30, May 7 and May 12. The elections to the 294-member Andhra Pradesh Assembly will be held on April 30 and May 7, along with the voting in the respective Lok Sabha constituencies in the State. Polling for the Odisha Assembly/Lok Sabha elections will be held on April 10 and 17. Sikkim will vote in the Assembly/Lok Sabha elections on April 12. The Odisha Assembly has 147 members and the Sikkim Assembly 32 members. A record 81.4 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise through 9.13 lakh polling stations. Nearly 96 per cent of the voters have already been given the Elector’s Photo Identity Card. For the first time in a general election, Electronic Voting Machines will provide an option for voters to press the ‘none of the above’ (NOTA) button if they do not wish to vote for any candidate. The option was implemented in the Delhi Assembly elections in December last. The entire process is spread over 73 days, against 75 days in the last elections. Counting of votes will be held on May 16.