Nitish favours simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today strongly favoured for evolving a consensus among political parties to hold simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies in 2024 and make required constitutional amendment for the purpose, but ruled out any possibility of preponing Bihar Assembly polls to go with next parliamentary elections slated for 2019. Mr Kumar, after 'Lok Samvad' programme organised at his official residence, told media persons here that he was strongly in favour of holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly elections as it would save considerable time wasted in poll mode of the government in one state after the other.

Not only Lok Sabha and state assemblies elections but polls for local urban bodies and panchayat elections should also be held together, he remarked. The Chief Minister said elections for all constitutional bodies having terms of five years should be held together and it was a well known fact that Lok Sabha and state assemblies elections used to be held simultaneously before 1967. Once a consensus among all parties evolved and constitutional amendment was made for the purpose, it would be ensured that house once formed would last for its full term of five years, he maintained.

Mr Kumar said that a number of administrative decisions had to be kept pending even for urban bodies and panchayati raj elections and it affected badly not only law and order but also other development works. Citing an example, the Chief Minister said if an administrative officer was not performing well and there was serious law and order problem under his jurisdiction, he could not be shifted without seeking permission from Election Commission even during the urban bodies and panchayati raj polls.