PM seeks people's blessing to return to power

As the Election Commission announced the schedule for the much-awaited Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the BJP-led NDA seeks people's "blessings again".

"Guided by sabka saath, sabka vikas', NDA seeks your blessings again. We spent the last five years fulfilling basic necessities that were left unfulfilled for 70 long years," he tweeted from his personal handle.

He said, now, time has come to "build on that and create a strong, prosperous and secure India".

He also gave the tagline, "#PhirEkBaarModiSarkar" to drive home his point.

Modi also said that 2.5 crore families have electricity for the first time; 7 crore households have smoke-free kitchens and 1.5 crore Indians got their own homes.

"These, and many other instances show that with the right approach and futuristic policies, nothing is impossible," he wrote.

Lok Sabha elections will begin on April 11 and continue for over a month till May 19 across seven phases, followed by counting of votes on May 23, the Election Commission announced Sunday, kick-starting the countdown for a mega electoral battle where the BJP will pitch for a re-election of the Modi government amid the Opposition's efforts for a united fight to unseat it.

The polling will be held on April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19 for 543 Lok Sabha seats across the country in which nearly 90 crore voters would be eligible to vote, the Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said at a packed press conference here.