The voting for the Lok Sabha Elections will take place in seven phases. It is important for CA students to be aware of the impact of the election dates with respect to the upcoming exams, to plan and prepare well in advance accordingly.
Today, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar revealed the schedule for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. These elections will be conducted over seven phases, commencing from April 19 and concluding on June 1. The announcement regarding the election results is scheduled for June 4. He also mentioned that simultaneous polls will not take place.
Source: Twitter/X Handle, Election Commission of India
Here is the Voting and Election Dates as revealed by the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar in the press meet:
Phase 1 – April 19
Phase 2 – April 26
Phase 3 – May 7
Phase 4 – May 13
Phase 5 – May 20
Phase 6 – May 25
Phase 7 – June 1
RESULTS: JUNE 4
Notably, 4.36 lakh students will appear for CA Foundation, Intermediate and Final Exams conducted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ( ICAI ) in May 2024.
“Ideally, there should not be any exams from 19 April to 1 June all phases”, CA Chirag Chauhan opined.
In line with the expectations, CA Anupam Sharma stated that, “May 2024 exam will be held after 4 June 2024”, while disclosing that it is personal opinion and not an official notification/declaration or information.
Reaffirming the cautious approach by CA Students towards Election Schedule, PS stated on X:
Here is the Schedule of the Chartered Accountancy May 2024 Examinations:
02 May ’24
CA Final May 2024 Group I Paper 1
03 May ’24
CA Inter May 2024 Group I Paper 1
04 May ’24
CA Final May 2024 Group I Paper 2
05 May ’24
CA Inter May 2024 Group I Paper 2
06 May ’24
CA Final May 2024 Group I Paper 3
07 May ’24
CA Inter May 2024 Group I Paper 3
08 May ’24
CA Final May 2024 Group II Paper 1
09 May ’24
CA Inter May 2024 Group II Paper 1
10 May ’24
CA Final May 2024 Group II Paper 2
11 May ’24
CA Inter May 2024 Group II Paper 2
12 May ’24
CA Final May 2024 Group II Paper 3
13 May ’24
CA Inter May 2024 Group II Paper 3
20 June ’24
CA Foundation May 2024 Paper 1
22 June ’24
CA Foundation May 2024 Paper 2
24 June ’24
CA Foundation May 2024 Paper 3
26 June ’24
CA Foundation May 2024 Paper 4
The following dates directly coincide with the phase-3 and phase-4 of elections:
07 May ’24
CA Inter May 2024 Group I Paper 3
13 May ’24
CA Inter May 2024 Group II Paper 3
Since only two examination dates are coinciding with the elections, the ICAI is mostly unlikely to postpone the whole examination. It is also likely that ICAI will postpone the two exams to a more convenient date, right after the elections.
Last time elections were held in 2019. Only two dates clashed with CA Papers. Also the last phase was completed on 19th May itself.
CA Rajat Jain wrote on X that, “It’s more about arrangements, campaigning and availability of transport before and after the dates that matters.”
However, against the wishes of CA Students, Central Council Member CA Dhiraj Khandelwal opined that, “After announcement of election date I think exam schedule should be the same in May itself only Clashing dates like 7th and 13th May exams should be postponed to 15th and 16th May.”
In conclusion, while there are concerns among CA students regarding the potential clash between the CA exams and Lok Sabha election dates, the probability of ICAI rescheduling the entire examination seems low.
With only two exam dates coinciding with election phases, it is more likely that ICAI will postpone those specific exams to more convenient dates, possibly right after the elections.
However, the final exam dates will be dependent on the final decision of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).
In short, the two possible scenarios are:
1. Only clashing exams to be postponed. (Can be problematic for students in some cases) and
2. All exams after 1st June.
Students are advised to stay tuned and continue preparations till the official announcement is out from the Institute regarding the postponement.
Support our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates
