SIMULTANEOUS ELECTIONS: WHO SAID WHAT

Congress: “It goes against the grain of the Constitution, its basic structure and hits at the core of democracy.”

Biju Janata Dal: “We support the idea and Naveen Patnaik is the originator of the idea. In 2004, he cut short the tenure of the Assembly by one whole year to have elections along with those of the Lok Sabha.”

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam: “The proposal seemed to be a complete misadventure that would decimate the federal structure. If such a situation were to arise, it is unclear whether all legislative Assemblies will also be dissolved to synchronise the electoral process again.”

Telangana Rashtra Samiti: “Four to six months of time is spent every time the Lok Sabha and Assemblies face election. The entire state and district-level administration and security system is busy with conduct of elections twice in a period of

five years as per the current practice. Likewise, imposition of the model code of conduct for such a long period is also hampering development and welfare activities taken up by state governments.”

Janata Dal (Secular): “In a federal democracy you cannot think of simultaneous elections. This is a futile exercise. First and foremost poll reform should be to put a ceiling on expenditure but no one's talking about it.”

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam: “We support the move but it should be implemented from the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.”

Samajwadi Party: “We support the move but it should be implemented from the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.”

Aam Aadmi Party: “We firmly believe that simultaneous elections will destroy our parliamentary democracy and federalism, and it will mean mutilating the basic structure of our Constitution.”