Except for a delay in the poll schedule by around a week, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has repeated the same Lok Sabha poll programme in 2024 as it did in 2019.
The polling for the super VVIP seat of Varanasi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the candidate for the third time, is scheduled for the last phase on June 1. Besides, the VVIP seats of Lucknow, where Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is in the fray, Amethi, represented by Union Minister Smriti Irani, and Rae Bareli will go to polls in the 5th phase on May 20.
Similar to previous elections, this time, the 80 LS constituencies of UP will go to polls in 7 phases like Bihar and West Bengal. In 2019, the poll schedule was announced on March 10 (Sunday), while this time, it was delayed by 6 days and announced on Saturday.
In 2019, the LS polls in UP started in the western parts and ended in the eastern parts, with the first phase conducted on April 11 and the 7th phase on May 19.
Though there is around a 5-7 day gap between all the phases, the gap between the 2nd and the 3rd phase is 11 days.
The counting of votes this time has been delayed by 12 days. In 2019, the results were declared on May 23. This time, it will be announced on June 4.
UP first phase of voting: April 19 (8 seats):
Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar
Second phase of voting: April 26 (8 seats)
Nagina, Amroha, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Hathras, Mathura, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri.
Third phase of voting: May 7 (10 seats)
Moradabad, Rampur, Sambhal, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah, Badaun, Amla, Bareilly and Pilibhit.
Fourth phase of voting: May 13 (13 seats)
Shahjahanpur, Kheri, Hardoi, Misrikh, Unnao, Farrukhabad, Etawah, Kannauj, Kanpur, Akbarpur, Jalaun, Jhansi and Hamirpur.
Fifth phase of voting: May 20 (14 seats)
Dhaurahara, Sitapur, Mohanlalganj, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Amethi, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi, Barabanki, Faizabad, Bahraich, Kaiserganj and Gonda.
Sixth phase of voting: May 25 (14 seats)
Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phulpur, Prayagraj, Ambedkarnagar, Shravasti, Dumariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Lalganj, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machhilshahr and Bhadohi.
Seventh phase of voting: June 1 (13 seats)
Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon, Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur and Robertsganj.