In the first phase, 124 constituencies will go to polls on April 16. 141 constituencies will witness balloting in the second phase on April 23, 107 seats in third phase on April 30, 85 seats in the penultimate phase on May 7 and 86 constituencies in the last phase on May 13.

The total electorate in the country currently stands at 714 million, an increase of 43 million from 2004 when the last General Elections were held.

For the first time, elections to the 543-member House would be held under the redrawn Parliamentary seats, an exercise that forced several leaders to virtually start from scratch and nurture new constituencies. The delimitation process, undertaken in all states except Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Manipur and Nagaland, has resulted in 499 out of 543 constituencies being reshaped.

This is also for the first time that photo electoral rolls would be used in 522 of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats in this year's election, the CEC said, barring Assam, Nagaland and Jammu and Kashmir.

82 per cent voters have been covered under the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC).

8,28,804 polling stations would be used in these elections as against 6,87,402 polling stations in 2004 Lok Sabha, marking an increase of 1,41,402 polling stations.

The state-wise dates for Lok Sabha polls

April 16 - Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep

April 22 - Manipur

April 23 - Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand

April 30 - Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu

May 7 - Bihar, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi

May 13 - Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Puducherry#