Dissolve Lok Sabha and hold polls now, Congress dares PM Modi on simultaneous elections

Aug 14 (AZINS) A day after BJP president Amit Shah made a fresh push for simultaneous polls, the Congress today dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dissolve the Lok Sabha so that its elections could be held with those due in four states later this year, while Shiv Sena mocked its NDA ally, saying it may hold Indian polls together with the US and Russia.

On its part, the BJP asserted that it was in favour of holding simultaneous polls as per the law and with consensus, but rejected reports that it had plans to hold assembly polls in 11 states together with those of the Lok Sabha.

Amid mixed political reactions, Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat virtually ruled out holding simultaneous elections anytime soon saying it was not possible without a legal framework as any extension or curtailment of the term of assemblies will require a constitutional amendment.

Bihar Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally Nitish Kumar also spoke on similar lines, saying the 'one nation, one poll' proposal was not implementable in the forthcoming general elections though it was a good idea.

Amid talks of simultaneous polls, the Congress dared Modi to dissolve the Lok Sabha early and announce general elections along with polls in four states where the terms of the assemblies end this year.

Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot asserted that postponing the upcoming state assembly elections and conducting these with Lok Sabha polls in 2019 is "not possible" under the Constitution or the law.

He said elections in Mizoram, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh will have to be conducted before the terms of these assemblies end.

"There is only one way of holding simultaneous elections. The prime minister should dissolve the Lok Sabha and hold polls along with the four state assembly elections," Gehlot told a press conference.

"The Congress will welcome it. We are prepared," he said.

The BJP's bickering ally Shiv Sena used the debate to take potshots at its bigger partner, saying it "may even propose to hold the elections simultaneously with those in the US and Russia." Sena's Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut also wondered how holding the Lok Sabha and assembly polls simultaneously will benefit the country.

"They (the BJP) may conduct the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls together. Or, they will hold the elections together with those in the US and Russia. You never know what will emerge out of the heads of top BJP leaders. What is the interest of the country in that (holding simultaneous polls)," he said.

The Chief Election Commissioner said a legal framework was required to implement the idea of holding simultaneous polls.

"If the term of some state assemblies needs to be curtailed or extended, then a constitutional amendment will be required... Logistics arrangements with regard to 100 per cent availability of VVPATs (paper trail machines) will be a constraint," he told reporters to a question on whether simultaneous elections can be held anytime soon.

"On the issue of 'one nation one poll', the Election Commission had given inputs and suggestions in 2015 itself.... Other requirements of additional police force, polling personnel would also be needed," he said.

The CEC said the poll panel would continue to deliver its responsibility of conducting elections whenever the term of any state assembly come to an end.

Nitish Kumar, who has been advocating simultaneous polls for state assemblies and Lok Sabha for quite some time, said it would not be possible in the next general elections. It is a good idea but the time is not yet ripe for its implementation, the Janata Dal (United) president said.

Supporting simultaneous polls, Shah in a letter to the Law Commission yesterday had dubbed the opposition to it as politically motivated, and asserted that the exercise will curb expenditure and ensure the nation is not in "election mode" throughout the year as it hampers development work.

He said his party was committed to this idea and explicitly believed that in a progressive democracy like India, elections should be held at a fixed time and for a fixed tenure so that people's representatives can carry out their duties effectively.