Amit Shah in a letter to the Law Commission has requested about having simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha polls in the country. In his letter to the Commission, he emphasised the continuous strain caused by the election leads to a heavy depletion in the nation’s resources. He also emphatically stated that this frequently halts the important decisions due to Model Code of Conduct in place. By suggesting these changes he stated that simultaneous polls will lower public expenditure and “strengthen India’s federal structure”.
Shah claims that his party is in favour of holding simultaneous polls. The BJP has also put forth that it has identified 11 states where assembly elections can be held with the Lok Sabha polls of 2019. While Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim go to polls during the Lok Sabha elections, elections in Haryana and Jharkhand can be brought forward
“The country saw simultaneous polls in 1952, 1957 and 1962 and 1967 and demonstrates that this can be done again,” read an excerpt from his letter.
The opposition has, however, slammed the move of the ruling party by claiming this move to be not appropriate. The Congress among the leading voices and has recently the senior authorities and emphasised its opposition to this concept. BJP however, has dismissed all claims against them as ‘baseless’. Shah further went on to clarify that,
“There is no relation between Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Voters vote on different issues in both polls. Therefore, we must have faith and trust the voters,”
The Law Commission as of now, however, hasn’t given any final decision. The law panel, which is examining the feasibility of holding simultaneous polls, had sought the views of the political parties before finalising its report. Chief election commissioner O.P. Rawat has said that the commission can begin preparing for simultaneous elections only when the legal framework is put in place.