As the Election Commission has announced the dates for the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday, voters were perplexed by an increase in the total number of constituencies.
Instead of 543 the number of seats was added up to 544.
However, the addition did not mean that any new constituency had been introduced.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar clarified that this exception was due to the situation in the Outer Manipur constituency.
Upcoming elections for 543 Lok Sabha constituencies will be conducted in seven phases from April 19 to June 1.
While every constituency will have polling on a single given day, Outer Manipur constituency will have two days of voting.
Considering the recent ethnic violence in the north-eastern State, the Inner Manipur will be voting on April 19 whereas Outer Manipur will vote on two dates: April 19 and 26.
The phase 1 of polling will include the districts of Churachandpur, and Chandel, where the ethnic strife between Kukis and Meiteis were at peak.
Moreover, the internally displaced voters will be allowed to vote from the camp they are living at present, Mr. Kumar told the media while presenting the election schedule.
A similar provision is already available for internally displaced persons of Jammu and Kashmir.
