ECI posts on X regarding Press Conference on Saturday, March 16

The Election Commission has announced that it will announce the dates of the
forthcoming Lok Sabha 2024 on Saturday, March 16, 2024. Taking to social media, the
poll panel’s spokesperson informed on X that the Press Conference of the Election
Commission would be held at 3pm on March 16, 2024. The post stated – Press
Conference by Election Commission to announce schedule for #GeneralElections2024
and some state Assemblies will be held at 3pm tomorrow ie Saturday, 16 th March. It will
be live-streamed on social media platforms of the ECI.
The announcement by the Election Commission comes shortly after the two newly-
appointed election commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh
Sandhu assumed charge in their positions on Friday. The two were appointed election
commissioners by the selection panel chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
Thursday.
Once the announcement of poll dates on Saturday is made, it would mean officially
putting in place the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) with immediate effect until the
announcement of results. All political parties and candidates have to abide by the MCC
once it is declared by the Election Commission.
MCC is a set of guidelines issued by the ECI to guarantee free and fair elections in the
country by regulating political parties and candidates prior to elections. The purpose is
to ensure that ruling parties at the centre and in the states do not misuse their position
of advantage to gain an unfair edge. The aim is also to prevent practices that are
deemed corrupt under the model code of conduct such as politicians making hate
speeches or making promises about new projects that may sway a voter.
The MCC is operational from the date on which the announcement of the election date
is made until the date the results are announced.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is seeking a

record third term in the upcoming elections. The BJP has kept a target of 370+ seats for
the party in the forthcoming polls while it has set 400+ for the National Democratic
Alliance (NDA).

The ruling NDA alliance is up against INDIA bloc that is formed of a collection of several
opposition parties including the Congress. Most leading political parties have released
their respective list of candidates for the polls.
Looking back…
In 2019, the announcement of the Lok Sabha election was made on March 10. Polling
across the country was held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19 to elect
representatives to the 17th Lok Sabha. The result, was declared on May 23, 2019 and
proved to be a landslide victory for the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
with an impressive 303 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha.