Simultaneous polls difficult, and won’t be representative: Former President Pranab Mukherjee

Former president of India Pranab Mukherjee. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

Former president Pranab Mukherjee Friday said holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections — an idea repeatedly advocated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi — was “very difficult to implement” and argued that trying to club elections “artificially” would deny states their right to a “representative government”.

His remarks were in stark contrast to what he said while in office. He had appeared favourable to the idea on at least two occasions. While interacting with students on Teachers’ Day in September 2016, Mukherjee had said frequent elections, which require the model code of conduct, disrupted the regular functioning of the government, and that political parties could collectively take a decision on the issue.

Then again in his address to the nation on the eve of Republic Day last year, he had said, “The time is also ripe for a constructive debate on electoral reforms and a return to the practice of the early decades after independence when elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies were held simultaneously.”

Delivering the D T Lakdawala memorial lecture organised by the Institute of Social Sciences, Mukherjee, without referring to Modi, said there were regular complaints that executive functions have become very difficult.

“There are 29 states… Now every assembly is to be expected to continue (for) five years but it may not. By any law, by any amendment of Act, you can ensure that in future a state government will not collapse. What is the answer?,” he said, while speaking on the topic of “Parliamentary Democracy and its Challenges Today”.

“Four years, four and a half years, three years, two years?… President’s Rule? Article 356?… You can have that, but that will not be democratic. People of the state will be denied to have their representative government if you artificially try to hold elections simultaneously,” Mukherjee said.

According to him, there cannot be a gap of more than 180 days between two sessions of the Lok Sabha but in state assemblies, there was no such constitutional provision but sessions would have to be held “in a year for two-three times”.

“So simultaneous election is very difficult to implement. Even the amendment of the Constitution will not give you (a) guarantee that a state assembly elected will serve for full five years and if that does not happen what are you going to do? …29 states are there,” he said.

Mukherjee, who served as an MP for 37 years, also expressed concern over the “diminishing days of (Parliament and Assembly) sessions” and frequent “disruptions” in Parliament. He also argued that Parliament should debate the financial proposal — the demands for grants — in greater detail.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra, who chaired the session, echoed Mukherjee’s remarks on the conduct of Parliamentarians and also highlighted corruption and criminalisation of politics.

“Introducing transparency in the funding of political parties, ensuring that the funds of political parties are subjected to regular audits, effective legal steps… To ensure that all political parties hold internal organisational elections and candidates with criminal backgrounds are not allowed to participate in the electoral process. It should the collective responsibility of all the political parties to take every required step for restoring what Jawaharlal Nehru called the majesty of Parliament,” he said.

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