The Election Commission of India (ECI) on March 16 announced general elections to the 18th Lok Sabha as well as four states - Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim. The Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases over the months of April and May, with over 90 crore eligible citizens voting for 543 seats of the Lower House. Results will be declared on June 4. In 2019, elections for the 17th Lok Sabha marked a landslide victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, which won 353 Lok Sabha seats. BJP on its own won a total of 303 seats, which was 31 more than the required number of seats for the majority, i.e., 272. The two major players in the elections this time is the NDA, and the newly formed I.N.D.I.A. bloc. With the official tenure of the NDA's Lok Sabha session set to expire on 16 June 2024, the poll season is well underway, with all political parties are undertaking poll campaigns accross the country.