BJP seeks to club all polls together

If the BJP has its way, not only the Lok Sabha and state polls, but even civic body and zilla parishad (ZP) elections will be held simultaneously in the country in the future. The party is planning to enact a bill to align these elections, with consultation from the Opposition.

The BJP-led central government has already initiated the move to synchronise Lok Sabha and state elections by setting up a committee in the law ministry to study the feasibility of simultaneous polls. The government is now contemplating the same for civic body and ZP elections as well, said BJP leaders.

“Apart from breaking the unending sequence of elections, the move will also expedite development works that are held up due to the election code of conduct. It will also give ample time to top politicians to concentrate on these works, since they won’t be involved in campaigning time and again,” said state BJP chief and MP Raosaheb Danve.

The bill to this effect will be brought in the Parliament after an all-party consultation. We hope that the Opposition will give their consent to it, Mr Danve added.

He also said: “If a state government collapses after two years and elections are held, then the tenure of the new government will only be for three years so that it matches the alignment of the next elections.”

The concept of holding Lok Sabha and state elections together was implemented in the first two general elections of 1952 and 1957. But after 1967, elections to the Parliament and Assemblies got disconnected, as a set of Samyukta Vidhayak Dal governments formed in a few states did not last their terms.

The Election Commission has estimated an expenditure of over '9,000 crore for holding Lok Sabha and state elections in the country. It is likely to come down significantly if the elections are held together.

According to government officials, unending state elections hinder governance as the election code of conduct prevents the announcement of policy decisions, as these are seen to be influential on voters.