2019 dates misrepresented as schedule for 2024 Indian general elections

By: Rajini KG
February 15 2024

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Screenshots of the claims made online (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

What is the claim?

India's general elections are scheduled to be held this year for 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, likely in April and May. An image of a notice has gone viral with the claim that polling in the state of Bihar will commence on April 11 and go on till May 19. 

The notice states that voting “will be held in seven phases.” The notice also mentions dates on which the seven-phase polling will take place. An archive of such posts can be found here and here. 

Some of these dates have also been shared by other users as polling dates in Maharashtra, with posts in Marathi claiming voting will be held in four phases — on April 11, April 18, April 23 and April 29. Find an archive version of the post here and here.

Screenshots of the claims made online (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the schedule mentioned in this notice is from the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has not announced the dates for the 2024 elections yet.

Here are the facts

There is no recent announcement from the ECI or the Bihar State Election Commission on the 2024 schedule. If the schedule had been announced, it would have made headlines, and an official notification would have also been available on the government portal, the Press Information Bureau. But there is no such document available.

A Google search for "Bihar election dates from April 11 to May 19" led us to news reports from 2019. The last general elections in the state were held from Apil 11 to May 19, as reported by The Hindu on March 10, 2019.

We found the 2019 notification issued by the State Election Commission in Bihar on its official website, and on page number 18 the 2019 schedule is the same as the one being shared as dates for the upcoming elections. 

The official notification by the Bihar Election Commission with the dates for the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. (Source: Screenshot/ceobihar.nic.in/)

The dates being shared as polling dates in Maharashtra for the general elections are also from the 2019 schedule. In 2019, voting for the Lok Sabha elections was held in four phases in Maharashtra — on April 11, 18, 23, and 29 — a Hindustan Times report from 2019 states. 

The official notification shows polling dates for Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. (Source: ceoelection.maharashtra.gov.in) 

The Election Commission of India has not announced the dates of the 2024 elections yet. The term of the 17 Lok Sabha is set to end on June 16, which means that the elections will most likely to be held in April and May. In 2019, the central poll body had announced the election schedule in the second week of March. 

The verdict

The election schedule from 2019 has been shared as dates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Hence, we have marked this claim as misleading.