Simultaneous polls: more questions than answers
Monday, April 23, 2018 IST
The Law Commission has backed the idea of conducting simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies and put out a working paper in the public domain to seek opinion of all stakeholders. Though there is little doubt that the current system of cyclic elections in India needs course correction, simultaneous polls are a quick fix solution which will lead to new problems. One of the recommendations is to hold assembly polls in phases to synchronise with 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The question is will various state governments endorse this view of finishing their terms early? Even if BJP ruled states agree there are others like West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu where elections were held in 2016 and Punjab in 2017, which are unlikely to support the move.
The other contentious issue is the recommendation that the leader of the largest party be ‘elected’ PM or CM by the Lok Sabha and assembly respectively. There are many precedents in the past when the single largest party has not formed the government because of other parties coming together. Goa and Manipur are the most recent examples in 2017 while Lok Sabha witnessed a similar pattern in 1989 and 1996. For example, if the Karnataka elections throw up a hung assembly in a three-way contest between BJP, Congress and JDS, should the leader of the single largest party be automatically made CM even if the other two parties have the required numbers to gain simple majority in the assembly?
The UP assembly election was spread over a month in five phases due to its sheer size last year. Imagine the manpower required to conduct simultaneous polls across the country in 29 states and seven Union Territories. We witnessed how Himachal Pradesh went to polls on November 9 but had to wait for nearly 40 days before the results were announced on December 18 last year. Going by current recommendations of the Law Commission, holding simultaneous polls could lead to policy paralysis in more states having to wait long between voting and counting as the latter will have to be necessarily done on one day.
Related Topics
Related News & Articles
With the tag-line “Plurals has arrived”, Priya appealed to the people of Bihar to join her party if they love their state and hate the politics.
Recently posted . 669 views . 1 min read
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and a few BJP officials from Uttar Pradesh host cautioned the gathering authority of developing open discontent over the inten...
Recently posted . 604 views . 33 min read
In Budget 2018, the top priority for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government will be to address farmers' issue ahead of the key st...
Recently posted . 772 views . 2 min read
At one of the centres, as many as 200 students wrote a similar essay on ‘Dikri Ghar Ni Divdi’ or ‘daughter is the earthern lamp of the family.'...
Recently posted . 575 views . 1 min read
Pakistan General elections 2018: The poll results will be keenly watched by New Delhi, especially in the wake of strained relations of the last many years.
Recently posted . 681 views . 1 min read
Trending News & Articles
While the Uttarakhand High Court has asked to block 857 websites, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) found 30 portals without any pornographic content.
...
Recently posted . 64K views . 1 min read
The four boys as well as five school officials, including the director and principal, were arrested after the incident. The minors were presented before the Juvenil...
Recently posted . 9K views . 1 min read
Rahul was having an Italian passport and was carrying suitcase full of dollars. Some say it was about was it $2 million.
Rahul and his girl friend was th...
Recently posted . 9K views . 7 min read
True – Tr...
Recently posted . 8K views . 83 min read
More in National
By not divulging any information beyond what a POW is supposed to reveal, the wing commander conducted himself professionally and lawfully. But the same cannot be...
Recently posted. 752 views . 1 min read
According to NCRB data for 2015, of the over 2.82 lakh humans behind bars, over 67 in line with cent inmates are undertrials. about sixty-five in keeping w...
Recently posted. 581 views . 29 min read
New Delhi: The focal government employees are probably going to get updated remittances from July onwards.
According to sources, the Cabinet will take a ...
Recently posted. 780 views . 29 min read
Recently posted . 662 views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 2K views
Recently posted . 3K views . 42 min read
Recently posted . 3K views . 34 min read
Raphael Samuel is an antinatalist who believes it is morally wrong to procreate
Recently posted. 674 views . 0 min read
Moment marketing is making brands easily discoverable
Recently posted. 899 views . 0 min read