Congress tells Modi to dissolve Lok Sabha to hold simultaneous polls with states

Narendra Modi

The Congress on Tuesday said the Lok Sabha should be dissolved and Assembly elections advanced in some other states if simultaneous polls are to be held. "Simultaneous elections are not possible without amendment in the Constitution. There is only one way to have the elections together and that is Modiji should dissolve Lok Sabha to advance general elections. We would welcome it," senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said.

His comments come against the backdrop of reports that the government was considering holding Lok Sabha polls early next year along with Assembly elections in 11 states by advancing polls in some states and deferring in some. "If they bring it in advance by dissolving the Lok Sabha, we are prepared to fight both Lok Sabha and assembly elections at a time," Gehlot said.

He said that the government was not "serious and honest about doing it" and only wanted to score political mileage out of it. "They are just projecting that they are so concerned about the nation and that the expenses incurred on elections are so high. They only play politics out of it," he said.

Vivek Tankha, a Rajya Sabha member who was part of the delegation heded by Ghelot to the Election Commission to complain about anomalies in the electoral rolls in Rajasthan, said for extending the term of state assemblies, Constitutional amendments would be required. He also said if the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tried to postpone elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, it would move the court.

A Supreme Court lawyer, Tankha said that his party suspected that the government was trying to defer elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where the surveys are projecting the ruling BJP to be losing. "It is not about the Congress. Three states where BJP is in power are going to polls. May be the surveys that are coming suggest that BJP is not winning there. So it is in their interest to postpone elections in these states," Tankha said.

"In the three states, the schedule for election has to come before the term comes to an end. We are confident that we are going to win these three states. So, if there is any attempt to postpone elections in these states, of course we will go to court," he added. Tankha said that in the Indian parliamentary democracy, although the tenures of legislatures are specified, governments can fall at any point of time. "So, there will never be one date for all governments to have a common election," he said.

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