Modi reiterates call for simultaneous polls, seeks debate

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reiterated his call for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and Assemblies and called for a widespread debate and consultations over the issue. “The Prime Minister called for widespread debate and consultations on simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas, keeping in view various aspects such as the resulting financial savings and consequent better utilisation of resources,” Modi said in his concluding remarks at the fourth meeting of Governing Council of NITI Aayog.

The Prime Minister has been pitching for simultaneous polls for some time.
In 2017, while addressing the third meeting of Governing Council of NITI Aayog, Modi had asked all the Chief Ministers to consider conducting simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha elections across the country.

On earlier occasions, he has said that policy, planning process and implementation becomes easier for the government as the nation’s resources do not witness an unwanted burden if simultaneous polls were held. According to him, a cost of Rs 1,100 crore was incurred during the 2009 general polls while Rs 4,000 crore was incurred in 2014.