New Delhi: Chef Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Monday addressed a press conference ahead of the declaration of Lok Sabha Election 2024 results on June 4.
During the conference, Kumar said, "India created a world record with 64.2 crore voters, including 31.2 crore women, participating in the Lok Sabha elections this year. Over 68,000 monitoring teams and 1.5 crore polling and security personnel were involved in the world's largest electoral exercise.
He further said, "Nearly four lakh vehicles, 135 special trains and 1,692 air sorties were used for conducting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Only 39 repolls took place in the 2024 general elections as against 540 repolls in 2019."
The CEC further said that Jammu and Kashmir recorded its highest turnout in four decades at 58.58 per cent overall and 51.05 per cent in the Valley. "Seizures of Rs 10,000 crore, including cash, freebies, drugs and liquor, were made during the 2024 polls as compared to Rs 3,500 crore in 2019," he said.
The day before the mega counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections on June 4, the Election Commission is slated to hold a press conference on Monday in Delhi at 12.30 PM. "Press Conference by Election Commission of India on General Elections 2024," the media invite from the poll body said.
This might be the first time in the country's electoral history that the poll body has convened a press conference on the conclusion of polls. Earlier on Sunday, the Election Commission sought factual information and details from Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh for his public statement through a post on his social media handle alleging that calls had been made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to 150 District Magistrates just days before the scheduled counting of votes (June 4).
The poll body has sought a response from Jairam Ramesh by June 2, 2024 evening for further necessary action. The voting for the marathon seven-phase polling process for the Lok Sabha elections, which began on April 19, came to an end on Saturday (June 1).
The exit polls predicted that the ruling BJP-led NDA is poised to improve its performance over its 2019 record when it won 352 seats. Two polls predicted the BJP also improving its numbers from the 303 seats it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
If the exit poll predictions come true about BJP returning to power on June 4 when votes are counted, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will become the only PM after Jawaharlal Nehru to win three successive terms in Lok Sabha polls. (with agency inputs)
