Lok Sabha elections in southern India will be held from April 19 to May 13, with Karnataka voting in two phases on April 26 (14 seats) and May 7 (14 seats), Tamil Nadu on April 19, Andhra Pradesh on May 13, Kerala on April 26 and Telangana on May 13 as per the parliamentary polls schedule announced by the Election Commission of India on Saturday. The Union Territory of Puducherry will vote on April 19. The Lok Sabha election results 2024 will be out on June 4 when the counting of votes takes place across India.

Andhra Pradesh will simultaneously vote in Assembly polls on May 13 and the counting of votes will be held alongside the general elections counting on June 4, 2024.

The BJP is gunning for a third consecutive term for Narendra Modi as Prime Minister, while the opposition has put up the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to challenge him. The bloc, however, has not declared a prime ministerial candidate. The BJP currently has 290 seats in the lower house, while its main rival, the Congress, has 48.

The five southern states along with the Union Territory of Puducherry, which has one constituency, account for 130 of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats. Tamil Nadu has 39 seats in the Lower House of Parliament, while Karnataka has 28. Andhra Pradesh accounts for 25 seats in the Lok Sabha and Kerala for 20. Telangana sends 17 MPs to the Lower House.

The BJP was unable to win any seat in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala besides Puducherry in 2019. It had though swept Karnataka by winning 25 of its 28 seats and made impressive gains in Telangana by bagging for the first time four of its 17 seats.

Tamil Nadu has 39 Lok Sabha seats, including 32 unreserved and seven reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates. In the 2019 elections, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance recorded an overwhelming victory, winning 38 out of the 39 seats.