Both, the President and the Prime Minister have made a strong pitch for holding the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections simultaneously. They have suggested that any decision by the Election Commission in this regard after consultations with political parties will be accepted. The EC believes this is a do-able proposition, provided certain legislative changes are made and infrastructure strengthened. In fact, the first election cycle to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies post independence started simultaneously and continued till it got disrupted during the fourth Lok Sabha.

Still, some key questions arise. For instance, regional parties have their own electoral mandates, which simultaneous polls could sweep aside. If their term in a State does not end at the same time that of the Lok Sabha, will they be willing to prematurely terminate their stint?

In a recent report, the NITI Aayog has debated the key challenges cited against the motion: Would it be feasible to extend or curtail the existing terms of some State Assemblies to facilitate simultaneous elections? If elections are held simultaneously, what would happen in case the ruling party or coalition loses majority between terms, in the Lok Sabha or State assemblies? Should the term of the Lok Sabha and Assemblies be fixed? Is it feasible for the EC to conduct elections on such a massive scale? In the EC’s view, the Constitution needs to be amended for elections to be held at one go.

The terms of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies would need to coincide — commence and expire on a particular date and not necessarily on the date when they complete five years. The situation arising out dissolution of the Lok Sabha/Assembly would have to be considered. By-polls need to be accommodated. Most critical of all, would regional parties let go of a discourse based on local issues? The onus is on political parties to arrive at a consensus.

Chief of Bureau, Delhi

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