The Election Commission on Sunday announced the dates for the 17th Lok Sabha election that will be held in seven phases across the country.

Almost 90 crore eligible voters will cast their votes to elect their preferred candidates, out of which 1.5 crore individuals will vote for the first time.

All the constituencies will use VVPAT machines for the first time. In the 16th Lok Sabha elections, the machines were used only for eight constituencies.

VVPAT stands for Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail. It is an independent system attached with the electronic voting machine (EVM) that allows the voters to verify that their votes are cast as intended.

The first phase of polling would be held on April 11, the second phase on April 18, third phase on April 23, fourth phase on April 29, fifth phase polling on May 6, sixth phase polling on May 12 and seventh phase on May 19. Counting of all phases will be held on May 23.

First Published:Mar 13, 2019 3:43 PM IST