Preparations for the second phase of the General Elections 2024 are underway as nominations are set to begin tomorrow following the issuance of a Gazette notification by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

A total of 88 Parliamentary Constituencies (PCs) spread across 12 States/Union Territories (UTs), along with one partial PC in Manipur (Outer Manipur), will be up for grabs in this phase, slated for polling on April 26, 2024.

The Gazette notification, scheduled to be released tomorrow on March 28, 2024, will mark the formal commencement of the election process for these constituencies.

Notably, the notification for the Outer Manipur PC was included in the earlier Gazette notification issued for Phase 1. 15 ACs in Outer Manipur PC will go to polls on April 19, 2024 (Phase 1) and 13 ACs in this PC will go to polls on April 26, 2024 (Phase 2).

The States/UTs included in the second phase of elections are Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Additionally, one part of the Manipur PC (Outer Manipur) is also part of this phase.

The deadline for filing nominations across all 12 States/UTs is April 4, 2024. The scrutiny of nominations is scheduled for April 5, 2024, for all States/UTs except Jammu & Kashmir, where it will take place on April 6, 2024.

With the election machinery gearing up for the second phase, political parties and candidates are expected to intensify their campaigns in the respective constituencies, vying for voter support ahead of the crucial polling day.