2019 Lok Sabha Poll Dates Viral As Uttar Pradesh Election Dates

A viral message has used the schedule of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to falsely claim that they are dates elections will be held in Uttar Pradesh.

This message follows a nearly similar message pertaining to the impending elections to West Bengal, where too the schedule of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was falsely shared as recent dates. The Election Commission announced its dates on February 26. The election will take place in eight phases from March 27 through April 29, with the counting scheduled on May 2.

Also Read:Viral Graphic Shares 2019 Lok Sabha Schedule As West Bengal Poll Dates

The message shows 80 seats going to the polls across seven phases, from April 11 to May 19. Uttar Pradesh, and incidentally West Bengal, were the only two states in the Lok Sabha elections to see polling across all seven phases of the election. Further, the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh has 403 seats, while the message outlines only 80 (Lok Sabha) seats.

BOOM received the message on its WhatsApp helpline (770906588).

This can also be viewed on Facebook and on Twitter.

FactCheck

A search showed that the dates in the viral graphic are of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, which took place from April 11 to May 19 with counting on May 23. We further found that the Uttar Pradesh elections are to be held in 2022, with no official announcement by the Election Commission yet. The announcement on Februrary 26 saw the dates to the assembly election of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry announced.

The elections went on in seven phases, and Uttar Pradesh's 80 seats were distributed across these seven phases. It was the only state, and West Bengal, that polled across all phases of the Lok Sabha election. The schedule can be found below, and can be verified from this document from pages 109 - 112.

This exactly reflects the schedule as provided in the message.

The graphic also incorrectly outlines elections to 80 constituencies, while the elections will go on for 304 assembly constituencies.