Some parties raise issue of simultaneous polls at EC meet

The BJP today supported the proposal of holding Lok Sabha and assembly elections together whereas some opposition parties dubbed the idea as untenable at the all-party meeting convened by the Election Commission.

Though simultaneous polls or 'one nation, one poll' was not on the agenda of the annual meeting convened by the poll panel ahead of the assembly elections in four states and Lok Sabha elections due in 2019, the matter came up at the fag end of the meeting.

Political parties, including the Congress, NCP and BSP, raised the issue, saying the concept was flawed and simultaneous polls were not possible.

The BJP supported the concept, saying it would help democracy in the long run, representatives of the parties and EC officials present in the meeting said.

"Some parties raised it. Some opposed it, one or two said good things about it," Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat told reporters after the meeting.

When asked to comment on holding the two set of polls together in 2019, Rawat said a lot had already been said on the issue. "A good debate is on," he said.

Political parties are divided on the issue of simultaneous polls.

The BJP, its NDA partner Shiromani Akali Dal, and the AIADMK, Samajwadi Party and Telangana Rashtra Samiti have supported it.

The Congress, Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, DMK, Telugu Desam Party, Left parties and the JD(S) have opposed the proposal.

The parties have given their response to the Law Commission, which is set to come out with a legal framework required to hold the mammoth exercise.

The EC has made it clear that without a legal framework, including amendment to the Constitution and election laws, the exercise cannot be held.