File Picture : The Indian Express
Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat has emphatically ruled out that possibility of holding simultaneous elections to the state assemblies along with the Lok Sabha polls without a “legal framework” in place. It thus ends the speculation of one nation , one poll plan as of now.
“Koi chance nahi” (no chance at all), Rawat told a select media meet in Aurangabad when asked if it was still feasible to hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections.
The Lok Sabha elections are due in April-May next year while Assembly polls to Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram are scheduled to be held later this year.
Earlier , It may be recalled that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah said in a letter written to the Law Commission of India that Simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies will put a check on poll-related expenditure and ensure that the country is not in an “election mode” through the year.
A delegation of BJP leaders met Law Commission chairman BS Chauhan and handed over Shah’s letter. The commission, which is examining the feasibility of holding simultaneous polls, had sought the views of political parties before finalising its report. The Congress met the Commission’s top officials recently and opposed the concept of simultaneous polls.
Shah said criticism of the concept of simultaneous elections was politically motivated. Simultaneous polls will let elected governments work, keeping governance and development as their focus areas, without having to think about elections, Shah said.
