PM for LS, state polls in one- go?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to bring a legislation to hold the first phase of simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and Assemblies whose terms come to end in 2018- 19, according to BJP sources.

After wresting Himachal Pradesh, the BJP- NDA combine now is in power in 19 Assemblies which should give it the advantage. The move for the legislation is expected in the ensuing Budget Session of Parliament.

Sources said that after passage of the Constitutional Amendment Bill in Parliament in February, it would not be difficult for the Centre to ensure passage of the Bill by minimum 50 per cent of legislatures in a month. The Prime Minister is keen to hold Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in 13 Assemblies sometime in October 2018, they added.

Parliament is vested with power to bring in a Constitutional Amendment Bill for curtailing or extending the tenure of the Assemblies as was done during Emergency by then Indira Gandhi government.

The proposal to hold simultaneous polls is nothing new as Mr Modi has been stating that it was very much on the cards. Even Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat said in Bhopal a few weeks ago that the Prime Minister’s Office had sought working out modalities. NITI Aayog also prepared a draft proposal on holding simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and Assemblies in two phases. The report said this would require a maximum one- time curtailment or extension in some Assemblies.

It remained to be seen if there would be an extension of elections to Karnataka, Tripura and Meghalaya Assemblies whose terms come to an end between March and May 2018. That would depend on the final stance that Mr Modi takes.

The proposed move will have to either repeal or introduce new provisions in various existing rules like the Representation of People’s Act and a few provisions in the Constitution. As per provisions, the Election Commission is bound to hold polls any time before the expiry of the five- year term of the Lok Sabha or an Assembly. The term of a House was from the first sitting.

Speaking to mediapersons in Hyderabad, CPI secretary- general Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy said his party was totally against the Prime Minister’s move for simultaneous polls.