Several amendments need to be effected to the Constitution to make simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and State Assemblies possible, a senior official of the Legislative Department has told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice.

At a meeting of the panel here on Monday, the members sought the views of Legislative Department Secretary G Narayana Raju on the issue of simultaneous elections, a matter that is close to the ruling BJP. Raju is learnt to have told the panel that many articles in the Constitution, including Article 356 and Article 83, may have to be revisited to implement the proposal. He reportedly said that till 1967, elections to States and the Centre were almost simultaneous. Raju told the members that while in certain cases the tenure of Houses may have to be curtailed, in some other cases, the tenure may have to be extended.

The BJP members in the panel said it simultaneous elections will be in the country’s interest. They said the concept of “One Nation, One Election” could be implemented phase by phase. A BJP member said the tenures of about ten States will have to be altered and a consensus can make it possible.

Opposition members argued that such a move would not be feasible in the current situation. Thre is no national consensus on the matter, and it will be against federal principles.

Representatives of the Election Commission also briefed the panel on “electoral reforms”.

Senior BJP leader Bhupender Yadav is the Chairman of the panel.

In 2015, the panel, under Congress leader EM Sudarshana Natchiappan, had submitted a report on the matter, saying that while “holding simultaneous elections may not be feasible in 2016, or even in a decade”, a solution to frequent elections would have to be found if “India is to compete with other nations in [the] developmental agenda”.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW