One poll debate good for India, says PM

The issue of holding simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha polls has divided parties. While Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shiromani Akali Dal, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Samajwadi Party, and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi have supported the idea, Congress, the principal Opposition party, the Trinamool Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Telugu Desam Party, the Left parties, and the Janata Dal (Secular) are opposed to the move.

“The government and the Opposition, both are putting forth their viewpoints. This is a good development and a healthy sign for our democracy. I must say that developing healthy traditions for a sound democracy, making constant efforts to strengthen democracy, encouraging open-minded debates would also be appropriate tribute to Atalji,” Modi said in his address.

The Election Commission has maintained that any extension or curtailment of the term of assemblies -- which will be needed if India adopts a simultaneous polls model -- will require a constitutional amendment, besides working out the logistics with regard to the availability of VVPAT (paper trail) for electronic voting machines.

In his address, Modi elaborated on Vajpayee’s contribution to good governance, bringing up the 91st Amendment Act, 2003, that restricted the size of the Cabinet in states to 15% of the total seats in the state assembly, and talked about how he was instrumental in increasing the limit under the anti-defection law from one-thirds to twothirds of the members of a party.

“India will remain ever grateful to Atalji for bringing the 91st Amendment Act, 2003…. For many years in India, the political culture of forming a very large Cabinet was being misused to constitute jumbo cabinets not only to create a divide, but also to appease political leaders. Atalji changed it,” Modi said, adding that the effort resulted in saving of money and resources besides improving efficiency.

The amendments to the antidefection law resulted in defining clear guidelines to disqualify the defector, the PM added.

The BJP is in the midst of organising events in memory of Vajpayee -- who died on August 16 -in order to perpetuate his legacy.

Modi expressed gratitude to all MPS who presented an “ideal approach” in the Monsoon session of Parliament, which was one of the most productive sessions in recent years, with several important bills passed. These included the bill providing for death penalty to child rapists, the triple talaq bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha, and bills amending the SC/ST prevention of atrocities act, and the bill giving constitutional authority to the black classes commission.

Modi also spoke about the floods in Kerala, which have caused widespread damage and destruction in the state. Expressing solidarity with the people of Kerala, the PM said that citizens from all walks of life across the country have come in support of those whose lives were devastated in the floods.

“From Kutch to Kamrup, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, everyone is endeavouring to contribute in some way or the other so that wherever a disaster strikes -- be it Kerala or any other part of India -- human life returns to normalcy,” he said.

The Congress criticised the remarks made by the PM on the issue of simultaneous polls in his address. “There are 7-8 months left for the Lok Sabha polls and if the Prime Minister wants simultaneous elections, we wish him good luck. The Election Commission has ruled out simultaneous polls, nation says it can’t happen and logistically these are not possible,” said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

Milan Vaishnav, the director and a senior fellow in the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said Shah and the BJP have been working to shape Tamil politics to their advantage since Jayalalithaa’s death.

The Telugu Desam Party’s exit from the National Democratic Alliance and a lack of understanding with the Shiv Sena for 2019, too, has made states like Tamil Nadu crucial for the BJP.

“However, the BJP’S leverage has declined over the past year with the narrowing of their perceived electoral advantage. Any potential Tamil ally will be able to drive a hard bargain,” Vaishnav said.

Observer Research Foundation’s senior fellow N Sathiya Moorthy said a pre-poll alliance will be difficult for the BJP. “Hindutva and minority-related issues will be a problem, particularly for a party like the DMK.” He said the DMK left the NDA ahead of the 2004 election because it felt continuing with the BJP was hurting its interest.

“AIADMK, under J Jayalalithaa, had transferable votes. That is questionable now. Moreover, an alliance with TTV Dhinakaran, against whom the Centre has filed so many cases, can hurt the prime minister’s clean image.”

Ashoka University’s political science assistant professor Gilles Verniers said the national parties may have to keep renegotiating the terms as the situation unfolds. “The first challenge for the BJP (or the Congress) is to find reliable interlocutors to negotiate an alliance, as both the DMK and the AIADMK are currently embroiled in a messy and poorly executed succession transition.” bearer who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The panel members – Rohit Choudhary and Ashvinbhai Kotwal – are touring different districts with All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretaries to identify the winnable candidates from among 1,900 applicants for 90 seats, he added.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress are going head-to-head in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh in what is considered by experts as a precursor to the 2019 general elections. The BJP is in power in all three states.

In his Bilaspur rally, Gandhi had said that tickets will be given to workers dedicated to the party’s ideology and not to those who parachute into the Congress at the time of elections.

“We will not give tickets to those who have been airdropped from helicopters or have come from other parties,” he had said, asserting that party workers will be consulted before fielding candidates.

Gandhi has often disapproved of granting tickets to those leaders who come to the party only to contest polls and fly out after getting defeated. He has also stressed the need for giving “due respect” to Congress workers in ticket allocation. shield for the corrupt or terrorists. We need data to improve business but the data must be anonymous, objective, and taken with consent”, according to the statement.

While it was unclear from the government release if Prasad was referring to anything in particular, the comment comes against the backdrop of the opposition to the Aadhaar programme that has been challenged in the top court for being a threat to Indians’ right to privacy.

Prasad said the Supreme Court too had elaborated these aspects while upholding right to privacy, and hence a “fine balance needs to be struck between data availability, innovation, anonymity and privacy”.

India’s digital infrastructure includes 1.21 billion mobile phones, of which 450 million are smartphones; nearly 500 million internet subscriber, and optical fibre connectivity to 250,000 village clusters, Prasad said in his speech, giving the leaders a sense of India’s digital infrastructure scale.