Google has released a special doodle with a voting symbol to mark the start of the first phase of the Lok Sabha Elections which began on April 19, 2024, the doodle features an ink finger symbolising the democratic electoral process in India. When clicked, it leads users to top stories on the first phase of the Lok Sabha Polls 2024.
A Google Doodle is a temporary alteration of the Google Logo on the search engine’s homepage or it commemorates the contributions of a person of their birth and death anniversary.
Google substituted its iconic logo on the homepage with an image of the index finger marked with an indelible ink, a symbol of the democratic electoral process in India. Voting for the first phase of the current ongoing Lok Sabha Polls has begun on 102 seats spread across 21 states and Union territories.
This doodle’s reach in terms of visibility spans the entire nation which will see voters across various states returning to polling booths to cast their votes. The doodle encapsulates the symbolic representation of voting through index finger which bears the iconic voting mark
This year, the 18th Lok Sabha Elections will see a stiff face-off between the BJP and the NDA along with the INDIA bloc. In phase one of the polling, 17 states and four Union Territories are conducting 102 constituencies.
During the first phase, 1.87 lakh polling stations have been arranged for over 16.63 crore voters who are eligible to cast their votes. Among the eligible voters 8.4 crore are men, 8.23 crore are women and 11, 371 are third gender electors.
In the first phase of elections, a total of 1625 candidates will be contesting and cutting across parties. The list of key candidates whose fate will be sealed today include Nitin Gadkari, K. Annamalai, Jitin Prasada, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Nakul Nath, Gaurav Gogoi, Imran Masood, Karti Chidambaram, Tamilisai Soundarajan and Dayanidhi Maran.
As per the Election Commission of India (ECI) notification voting will commence at 7:00 AM and conclude at 6:00PM. The ECI has scheduled the counting of votes for June 4, 2024.
The general elections to elect 543 members of the 18th Lok Sabha will be held in seven phases from April 19 to June 1. Phase 2 voting is scheduled for April 26. Phase 3 for May 7, Phase 4 for May 13, Phase 5 for May 20, Phase 6 for May 25 and Phase 7 for June 1. The results will be announced on June 4, 2024.
In the first phase, the poling is being held on all seats in Tamil Nadu (39), Uttarakhand (5), Arunachal Pradesh (2), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (1), Puducherry (1), Sikkim (1) and Lakshadweep (1).
Besides, there is voting in 12 seats in Rajasthan, eight in Uttar Pradesh, six in Madhya Pradesh, five seats in Assam and Maharashtra each, four in Bihar, three in West Bengal, two in Manipur and one seat each in Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir and Chhattisgarh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the people, especially young and first-time voters to exercise franchise in large numbers.
