TMC, CPI, DMK oppose simultaneous polls; BJP, Congress skip meet

The Law Commission of India today held the first meeting to discuss the feasibility of holding Lok Sabha and assembly polls together.

While members from the BJP and the Congress were not present in the meeting, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) were the two recognised national parties in attendance.

The concept of simultaneous polls was opposed by TMC, Communist Party of India (CPI) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) while NDA's ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) supported the idea.

SAD said that It would reduce the expenditureand shorten the period of the Model Code of Conduct, which hampers development work.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chairman K Chandrashekar Rao also favoured simultaneous polls.

In his letter to the Law Commission, he wrote, "TRS is strongly in favour of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies."

Samajwadi Party also expressed its approval and said polls should be conducted in 2019.

The AIADMK said holding both the polls together is "desirable", but certain "practical" and "serious" issues need to be settled first.

The AIADMK, which rules Tamil Nadu, was of the view that if necessarysimultaneous elections should be held in 2024 and not before that.

DMK working president MK Stalinin his letter to Law Commissionstated that the party was of the firm opinion that the proposed call for simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and State Legislatures goes against the basic tenets of the Constitution.

The TMC also opposed the idea saying regional issues would be overshadowed by national issues, and national parties with their "money power" would steal the polls from smaller players.

The CPI, All India United Democratic Front, and Goa Forward Party also disapproved simultaneous polls.

The proposal for the simultaneous polls was supported by the BJP and the party has sought more time from the commission to present its viewon the matter.

The Congress, on the other hand, said it would consult other Opposition parties on the subject before deciding its course of action.