As Lok Sabha elections phase 1 begins, Instagram encourages Indians to vote

Instagram sent an alert urging people to cast their votes in Lok Sabha elections 2024

Voting in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 started early morning on Friday. The first phase will see 102 out of 543 Lok Sabha seats go to polls in 17 states and four Union Territories (UTs).

Social networking service Instagram launched a new feature aimed at encouraging voters to participate in the elections. Upon opening the app, Instagram gives an alert on top which says, "Voting in India’s Lok Sabha elections starts today, April 19."

"Get official information about the India Lok Sabha elections 2024 and find out when people in your state can vote. Create a story and add an election sticker to encourage friends to vote," said the alert.

 

The alert has a button, named "See election info". Upon clicking on the button, the app directs the user to the general election 2024 website by the Election Commission of India (ECI) (https://elections24.eci.gov.in/).

The website has details about the seven phases in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 as well as the schedule for the state elections in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Odisha.

Using the website, a user can get information about his/her name in the electoral roll, polling stations and can also know the details of candidates in all Lok Sabha seats.

In the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, voting is being held on all seats of Tamil Nadu (39), Rajasthan (12), Uttar Pradesh (8), Madhya Pradesh (6), Uttarakhand (5), Arunachal Pradesh (2), Meghalaya (2), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (1), Puducherry (1), Sikkim (1) and Lakshadweep (1). There will be five seats each in Assam and Maharashtra, four in Bihar, three in West Bengal, two in Manipur, and one each in Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, and Chhattisgarh.

Four states – Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh – will pick new assemblies alongside voting for Lok Sabha.