April 16 only for reference: Delhi CEO scotches Lok Sabha poll date speculation

New Delhi, Jan 24

Amidst growing speculation regarding the tentative dates of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections this year, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Delhi has issued a clarification, putting to rest any confusion surrounding the date of April 16.

“Some media queries are coming referring to a circular by @CeodelhiOffice to clarify whether 16.04.2024 is the tentative poll day for #LSElections2024. It is clarified that this date was mentioned only for ‘reference’ for officials to plan activities as per the Election Planner of ECI,” said the Delhi CEO’s office in a tweet on X.

On Tuesday, the Delhi CEO’s office had issued a notification to all 11 District Election Officers in the city for compliance with the timeline given in the Election Planner of the Election Commission of India.

“I am directed to draw your kind attention to the Election Planner issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in which various activities in the build up to the election have been given along with the timelines/duration for each activity to start and to be completed. For the ensuing General Election to the Lok Sabha 2024, the Commission has tentatively given the Poll Day as 16.04.2024 for the purpose of reference and to calculate Start and End dates in the Election Planner,” read the notification.

“It is also to inform you that on every Start and End Date of the each activity, a notification is sent from the Election Planner Portal to CEO Delhi through SMS & email. The status of each activity is required to be updated/marked as Pending/In Progress/Scheduled/Completed depending on the reports received from the DEOS/ROs and concerned Branches at CEO (HQ),” it read.

“In this regard, I am directed to request you to kindly adhere to the given timelines for initiating and completing each election activity mentioned in the Election Planner and send a report to COE Branch, office of CEO, Delhi on email id coebranch2024@gmail.com at least one day prior to the Start and End dates of the activity(s),” it added.