Nitish supports Modi on simultaneous polls
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar wants all political parties to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.
Mr Kumar said, “I see nothing wrong in holding both the elections together as it will bring down the country’s expenditure.”
The debate on holding simultaneous elections for Parliament and Assemblies first began after Mr Modi many times urged political parties to evolve a consensus on the issue.
Mr Kumar, who dumped the RJD and the Congress in July to form an alliance with the NDA in Bihar, favoured the BJP on the issue on Monday.
Though no official line has been decided by the RJD and the Congress to react on Mr Kumar’s statement, sources said RJD chief Lalu Yadav might oppose the issue.
Mr Kumar also wants the political parties to agree with him on holding panchayat and local body elections along with Parliament and Assembly elections.
The chief minister, however, also hinted he was not in favour of early Bihar elections with the Lok Sabha in 2019.
JD(U) state president Basisth Narayan Singh’s earlier statement on the issue had sparked speculation that the ruling alliance in Bihar might prefer to hold Assembly election in 2019 to coincide with the General Elections. The Assembly polls in Bihar are scheduled for 2020.
The Bihar CM said this while briefing media on the sidelines of his weekly ‘Samvad’ programme in Patna. “It is a fact that Parliament and Assembly elections used to be held together before 1967, and now the time has come to think on the issue once again. It is not right to put people in election mode repeatedly as it also hampers development and creates administrative problems.”
Mr Kumar attacked Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for giving a statement on dynasty politics.