Implementing 'one nation, one election' idea herculean task: TRS leader

Implementing the "one nation, one election" idea is going to be a herculean task, a senior TRS said on Monday while backing the proposal for simultaneous polls.

B Vinod Kumar, a former Lok Sabha member, noted that his party had put forth its views on simultaneous elections before the Law Commission during the NDA government's previous term that "it would be better to have all polls at one go".

"It was our opinion then and it still is," Kumar, who served as the deputy floor leader of the TRS in the 16th Lok Sabha, told PTI, but reminded that implementing the idea is not going to be an easy task as elections are held in different states in different intervals.

Kumar said the government is yet to spell out the modalities on how the new poll system would be put in place, adding, his party would be able to give "concrete opinion" once the Centre comes out with details of its implementation.

"Per se, election at one go will be better for the whole nation. (But) it's a herculean task," he said.

Chairing an all-party meeting on the eve of the first session of the new Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday invited heads of all parties to a meeting on June 19 to discuss the "one nation, one election" issue and other important matters.

TRS spokesperson Abid Rasool Khan said the issue needs to be discussed thoroughly and the government should take all states into confidence and try to build consensus.

"It should not be imposed on states," he said.

It's not immediately clear if Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who is also the head of TRS, would attend the meeting convened by the prime minister on Wednesday. He had skipped the prime minister's swearing-in ceremony on May 30, and the fifth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog last week.

TRS sources said the chief minister is busy in preparations for the inauguration of the Kaleshwaram project on June 21, Cabinet meeting on Tuesday and a meeting on the party's state executive on June 19.