Coterminous LS, State polls not feasible: Quraishi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s advocacy of making Lok Sabha and State Assembly polls coterminous has set off a debate on whether, in fact, this move is at all feasible or practically implementable.
Why this is needed?
It is necessary due the administrative issues arising out of frequent and
successive elections in various states.
Also, the way the electoral calendar of
the country is set up, there are polls every year in some part of the country
or the other. With the Model
Code of Conduct coming into force in one State or the other and even for the
Centre in some cases, this leads to administrative lethargy, and issues.
Why this is not feasible?
Constitutionally it will be
impossible to implement this mandate. According to this mandate, if, for
example, the central government falls, all state assemblies have to be
dissolved too. This would, however, disturb the mandate of those governments.
What’s the way ahead?
Solutions should be found to
the specific worries with regard to electoral calendar of the country and its
effect on administration and the financial health of political parties. All of
these issues can be tackled through electoral reforms, without getting into
Constitutional matters.
What has the expert committee
said?
- A parliamentary standing committee of Law and Justice that had been asked to go into the issue in detail had recommended a two-phase election schedule to make the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls coterminous.
- In its recommendations, the committee suggests a two-phase poll, with States divided into two groups, one for which elections would be in the middle of the current Lok Sabha (16 States) and another where elections will be held at the end of the current Lok Sabha (19 States).
- By this process, at least half the States in India will have polls alongside Lok Sabha polls, and the rest in the middle of that term.
