The heatwave and Lok Sabha Elections 2024 have come hand-in-hand for the people of India. Election Commission of India announced a while back that the Lok Sabha Elections will be conducted in seven phases in India. The Election kicked off on Friday, 19th April and will conclude on Saturday, 1 June 2024. Till now, the voters turnout in the elections have been poor and this could be due to the excessive heat that has engulfed India at the moment.
The Election Commission of India has realised the threat of heatwave and has therefore decided to increase the timing of voting in Telangana. ECI hopes that it will increase the voters turnout in the region. It has been reported that Congress party urged the ECI to take this step. They filed an official request regarding the same and the election body has come up with a prompt response on the matter.
Voting for all 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana will take place on May 13th. The Election Commission announced on Thursday that the voting timing in Telangana state will be extended by one hour. Previously, voting was from 7 am to 5 pm, but now voters can cast their votes from 7 am to 6 pm. Voting will be held in the Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Jahirabad, Medak, Malkajgiri, Sikandarabad, Hyderabad, Chevella, Mahbubnagar, Nagar Kurnool (SC), Nalgonda, and Bhongir Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana on the upcoming 17th.
Also read: How to Download Voter ID Card Online? Know Easy Steps
According to the Election Commission’s new guidelines, the new voting time will also apply to five assembly constituencies of Adilabad Lok Sabha seat, three of Peddapalle seat, six of Warangal (SC) seat, three of Mahbubabad (ST) seat, and five assembly constituencies of Khammam Lok Sabha seat. IMD has issued a red alert for severe heatwave in the state from May 4th.
It is noteworthy that the voting for the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 has been completed so far. The next phase of voting will take place on May 7th. The Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases by June 1st, and the counting of votes will take place on June 4th.
It will be interesting to see whether the timings for voting would also change in the northern regions of India when the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 phase kicks off in this part. Heatwave, in particular, becomes unbearable in Delhi and surrounding states.