India to Go to Polls from April 16

India’s Chief Election commissioner N.Gopalaswami (L) accompanied by Election Commissioner Naveen Chawla (R) poses with the schedule for the 2009 General Elections in New Delhi on March 1, 2009. (Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images)

BANGALORE, India—The Election Commission of India announced a five-phase schedule for the polls on Monday March 2, set to run in the summer months of April and May.

The polls to elect new members to the Lower House of Parliament will be held in 543 constituencies, from April 16 through May 13. Two members from the Anglo-Indian community are also nominated to the 545-house by the President.

Chief Election Commissioner, N Gopalaswami, told the media that about 714 million people—up from 671 million in 2004—are eligible to vote this time. Polling will be held at more than 800,000 stations spread across 28 states and seven union territories.

About 4 million civil staff and 2.1 million security personnel will be deployed to conduct the polls, the Election Commissioner said

While three states, including Uttar, Pradesh, Bihar, and the troubled Jammu and Kashmir, will have five-phased polls, 15 states and seven union territories will wrap it up within a day. Other states will go through a two, three, or a four-phased exercise. The votes will be counted on May 16 and the new house will be formed by June 2.

With the size of the electorate bigger than the combined population of Russia and the US, India’s is the largest democracy in the world.