Modi Govt Explores Option Of President's Rule In States To Hold Simultaneous Polls: Report

A report by The Economic Times, attributing to sources, says two parallel ideas are being explored. One, to impose President’s Rule in the states whose assemblies end their terms before the Lok Sabha polls and then hold them along with the latter. In this case, states whose assembly terms expire within six months after the Lok Sabha polls, which are likely to be held in April or May,  can be persuaded to call for early elections, especially since most of the states involved are BJP states.

Another option could be the general elections are advanced to November or December this year and conducted along with the assembly polls in four states.

If the general elections are advanced, then Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Haryana and Maharashtra will have to be persuaded to dissolve their assemblies by six to 11 months.

The ET report also said those who support the idea say the President’s rule could be imposed in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan after the current terms of their assemblies end in December, till April-May when the Lok Sabha polls are due.

Both the ideas wouldn’t need any amendment to the Constitution, which would take a lot of time and energy.

Meanwhile, news agency PTI on Thursday reported a law commission internal working paper has recommended holding of simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls in two phases.

The second phase of simultaneous polls can take place in 2024, the document states.

The document has proposed amending the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act to shorten or extend the terms of state legislative assemblies to effect the move.

The amendments are in line with the ones recommended by a parliamentary panel and the Niti Aayog.

The working paper will be discussed by the ‘full commission’ on April 17. “It is a draft document and no final decision has been taken. If members suggest, changes could be made before a final report is submitted to the law ministry,” a top law panel functionary told PTI.

The states which are recommended to be covered under phase I are where assembly polls are due in 2021. These include Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

States which will come under phase II are Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Delhi and Punjab. To hold elections in these states along with LS polls, the terms of the assemblies have to be extended.

Based on a suggestion made by the Election Commission, the working paper also says that a no confidence motion against the government should be followed by a confidence motion. This would ensure that if the opposition does not have numbers to form an alternative government, the regime in office cannot be removed.

Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat had a word of caution on simultaneous polls when he recently said that the legal framework required for holding of the two elections together will take a lot of time to get ready.

The government, led by the BJP, has been pushing for the one nation, one election process for the some time now. 

In July last year, BJP president Amit Shah had said the party was in favour of holding Lok Sabha and state assembly elections simultaneously. He added said all political parties should discuss the issue and take it up with the Election Commission.

"We definitely want Lok Sabha and state assembly elections to be held together. The BJP believes in the concept," he said.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also raised the issue with all political parties for discussion," he further said.

In February this year, the BJP hosted a meeting of all its chief ministers and deputy chief ministers to find ways to deliver on its promise of “one nation, one election”.

Senior BJP leaders are of the view that simultaneous elections are needed to push development.

Chief ministers of several BJP states argued that because of the continuous process of elections and implementation of the model code of conduct, state governments were finding it difficult to carry out development work.

“There is a need to create awareness in the country and start the process of discussions so that people know that the functioning of the state governments was getting affected due to continuous elections and model code of conduct,” a senior BJP leader, who was part of the meeting, told Mint.