Lok Sabha polls: Meta plans election centre, UPSC exam postponed. 10 points

Lok Sabha elections preparations have firmed up with the stakeholders announcing their progress. In view of the polls, UPSC and CA exams schedule have been revised to avoid clashes with polling days

Lok Sabha elections latest news: The nominations for phase one of the Lok Sabha elections, to be held on April 19, began on Wednesday with the issuance of a notification by the Election Commission (EC). As many as 102 parliamentary constituencies spread across 21 states and Union territories (UTs) will go to polls in the inaugural phases of the polls.

According to the EC's schedule, the remaining seats in 28 states and eight UTs will be voted for in subsequent six phases until June 1. The votes are scheduled to be counted on June 4.

Here are ten major election updates for March 20:

1) According to the official release, March 28 will be the last date for filing nominations for Bihar and March 27 for Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.

Meta election centre proposal for polls

2) Amid the concerns over misuse of technology in elections, Facebook and Instagram owner Meta on Tuesday vowed to clamp down on AI-generated content for the polls. The tech giant said it will operationalise an India-specific Elections Operations Centre. The body will work to identify potential threats and mitigate them on its platforms in real time. "We are also building tools to label AI-generated images from Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, Adobe, Midjourney, and Shutterstock that users post to Facebook, Instagram and Threads," Meta said.

UPSC, CA exams revised dates revealed

3) Following the election body's scheduled announcement for the election to the 18th Lok Sabha, the dates for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams have been revised. According to the revised schedule, the UPSC prelims will now be conducted on June 16.

4) Other than UPSC, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) also rescheduled its exam dates given the Lok Sabha elections. According to the revised schedule, the intermediate course exam for Group 1 will now be held on May 3, 5 and 9. For Group 2, the intermediate course exam will be held on May 11, 15 and 17. The final exams for Group 1 will take place on May 2, 4 and 8. For Group 2, the exam will be held on May 10, 14 and 16.

5) On the political front, as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) seat-sharing call for Odisha appears in limbo, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has begun the process of candidates' selection. We will start selecting our candidates without waiting for the BJP's decision (on alliance). We will see what will happen later, a senior BJD leader said. Odisha will go to polls in multiple phases starting May 13. The development comes as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is discussing seat-sharing plans with the BJD in New Delhi.

Tamil rivals AIADMK, DMK announce candidates

6) The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK on Wednesday released its first list of 16 candidates for the polls in Tamil Nadu. "In the AIADMK alliance, the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam or DMDMK is to contest in 5 seats, the Social Democratic Party Of India or SDPI in one seat and Puthiya Tamilagam in 1 seat, from Tenkasi constituency," said party general secretary, Edappadi K Palaniswami. Tamil Nadu is voting on April 19 in a single phase of polling.

7) The rival Dravidian major in Tamil Nadu, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), also announced its candidates for 21 seats for the polls. Party chief MK Stalin also announced the party's 64-page election manifesto. The AIADMK was founded in 1972 by Tamil film superstar MG Ramachandran (MGR) after breaking away from the DMK.

Kerala Congress demands polling date change

8) In Kerala, the Congress party urged the poll body to shift the election date, currently set at April 26. "Considering the inconvenience to a certain section of the people regarding the election day, which is Friday, we have urged the Election Commission to change the date. In Kerala, Friday and Sunday will be inconvenient to various sections of the community. So we urge to change this 26th day to another date," the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) acting president, MM Hassan, said. All the 20 seats of the state will go to polls together in the second phase.

SAD to hold key meet on March 22

9) The Punjab-based Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will hold a key meeting on March 22 to finalise its Lok Sabha election strategy. "The core committee meeting is going to happen on March 22 at the party head office in Chandigarh. The election strategy of the Parliamentary elections will be finalised," party leader Daljit Singh Cheema said.

10) As many as 11,682 defacements, including wall writings, posters and banners, were removed in Noida's Gautam Budh Nagar district within 72 hours in line with the model code of conduct. Of the defacements, 9,361 were on public properties, the official data said. The model code of conduct has been in effect since the poll date announcement on March 16 in a bid to ensure free and fair polls.