New Delhi, August 14: It is a concept that does not find resonance with other political parties, but the BJP today raised the pitch for simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the country. BJP chief Amit Shah, in a letter to Law Commission Chairperson Balbir Singh Cahuhan, said ‘one nation, one poll’ would not just cut down expenses but also enable lawmakers to concentrate on development and governance in the country.
The BJP pitch added to prevailing speculations on simultaneous polls in the country from the next round itself, which leaders dismissed.
Opposition to simultaneous polls seems to be politically motivated, said Shah, in an exhaustive letter running into eight pages where he recounted how during 2016-17 some parts of Maharashtra remained under the ‘aachaar sanhita’ election code of conduct for 307 of the 365 days.
Similar situations were witnessed in other states as well, he said, asserting that due to election cycles in various states throughout the year, developmental works get affected. The perpetual election process strained national resources and hampered development works and policy decisions, leading to extra expenditure and wastage of manpower deputed on the election-related duty.
A BJP delegation led by Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Rajya Sabha MPs Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Bhupendra Yadav and Anil Baluni also met Justice Chauhan with Shah’s letter recommending necessary amendments to the Constitution to realise the idea. The delegation said legal provisions should be amended to avoid frequent elections hampering development works in states.
Source Tribune India
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