Next Indian general election
By May –June 2029
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General elections are expected to be held in India by April 2029 to elect 543 members of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament.
Background
The tenure of the 18th Lok Sabha is scheduled to end in June 2029.[1] In the 2024 Indian general election, incumbent prime minister Narendra Modi ran for a third consecutive term. His Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had enjoyed an absolute majority—a minimum of 272 seats—in the 2014 and 2019 elections. The primary opposition was the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), a coalition formed in 2023 by the Indian National Congress (INC) and many regional parties. The BJP won 240 seats, with the NDA securing 293 of the house's 543 seats.[2] The INDIA coalition secured 234 seats, 99 of which were won by the Congress, garnering the party the official opposition status for the first time in 10 years.[3][4][5] Seven independents and ten candidates from non-aligned parties also won seats in the Lok Sabha.[6][7][8]
Current composition of the Lok Sabha
This table relates to the composition of the Lok Sabha after the 2024 Indian general election and summarises the changes in party affiliation that took place during the 2024–present Lok Sabha.
No. of Lok Sabha MP's party-wise:
- As of 13 August 2025
Delimitation
The next Lok Sabha delimitation in India is due after the first census following the year 2026. According to the 84th Amendment to the Constitution of India, the current freeze on the delimitation of constituencies is set to continue until the results of the first census taken after the year 2026 are published.[9]
Women's reservation
The introduction of women's reservation in the Lok Sabha is set to occur after the delimitation exercise based on the census following the year 2026. According to the 106th Amendment Act, 33% of the total seats will be directly allocated to women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.[10]
Schedule
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has indicated that the 2029 elections would be over by the end of April to prevent heat from affecting voter turnout. Until 2004, the general elections were conducted between the cooler months of December and March.[11]
Schedule
| Poll event | Date |
|---|---|
| Notification | |
| Deadline for filing nomination | |
| Scrutiny of nominations | |
| Deadline for withdrawal of nomination | |
| Polling | |
| Counting of votes |
Electoral system
MPs are elected from single-member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting. Eligible voters must be Indian citizens, 18 years or older, an ordinary resident of the polling area of the constituency and registered to vote (name included in the electoral rolls), possess a valid voter identification card issued by the Election Commission of India or equivalent. Some people convicted of electoral or other offences are barred from voting. Article 83 of the Constitution of India requires elections to the Lok Sabha be held once every five years.
Surveys and polls
References
- ^ "Terms of the Houses". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Sinha, Shishir (5 June 2024). "NDA elects Modi as leader, President dissolves Lok Sabha". BusinessLine. Archived from the original on 5 June 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ Aggarwal, Raghav (4 June 2024). "INDIA bloc's combined strength plays spoilsport for BJP in 2 biggest states". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 4 June 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ Aggarwai, Mithil; Frayer, Janis Mackey (4 June 2024). "India hands PM Modi a surprise setback, with his majority in doubt in the world's largest election". NBC News. Archived from the original on 4 June 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
- ^ Poharel, Krishna; Lahiri, Tripti (3 June 2024). "India's Narendra Modi Struggles to Hold On to Majority, Early Election Results Show". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 4 June 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
- ^ "7 Independents and 10 from non-aligned parties book LS seats". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
- ^ "Lok Sabha elections: Meet seven candidates who won as independents". Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
- ^ "Who are the 7 independents elected to the Lok Sabha?". 7 June 2024. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
- ^ R, Rangarajan (6 February 2024). "Understanding the delimitation exercise | Explained". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
- ^ "'God has given me the opportunity', says PM Modi as women quota bill tabled in LS". Hindustan Times. 19 September 2023.
- ^ De, Abhishek (3 June 2024). "'Next Lok Sabha polls to be over by end of April': 5 big quotes by election body". India Today. Retrieved 11 July 2024.