NEW DELHI: The
Law Commission will deliberate on April 17 on proposed simultaneous
elections to Parliament and state assemblies even as an internal paper of the panel has favoured the proposal.
A top source said the law panel has taken note of a paper from
Niti Ayog and has prepared an internal document of its own on the subject and will discuss whether clubbing assembly and parliamentary
polls are feasible and from when.
Once a consensus evolves within the commission, the law panel will consult all stakeholders, including the Election Commission, and submit its final recommendation to the government, the source said. The
Modi government is in favour of holding simultaneous elections. The PM has said on several occasions that the country needs to limit its expenditure and not conduct elections every year in different parts of the country.
A study by Niti Aayog had found that elections were conducted for two to five assemblies almost every six months. Regular polls disrupt governance and development since the government becomes bound by the model code of conduct.
An internal paper of the law panel has favoured simultaneous elections and has proposed that it could be possible by amending the Representation of the People Act. To start with, elections to assemblies could be clubbed in two phases with the parliamentary polls with the first phase held in 2019. Amendment in the RP Act could provide for curtailing or extending the terms of assemblies.
As per the law panel’s paper, states where assembly polls are due in 2021 could be covered in the first phase by curtailing their terms. These states include Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. In the second phase, polls in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Delhi and Punjab could be held together with the next parliamentary polls by extending their tenure.
