A first of its kind national seminar pushing for simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and the State assemblies will be held in Mumbai on January 20 and January 21 under the auspices of the BJP-linked Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, and presided over by the new Indian Council for Cultural Relations chief, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe.
Revealing the details of the seminar, Mr Sahasrabuddhe termed the idea of simultaneous polls as the “mother of all reforms”. While most political parties have been invited for the event, those who have confirmed participation include K.C. Tyagi of the JD(U), a BJP ally, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Baijayant Panda, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Niti Aayog vice-chairperson Rajiv Kumar, besides several legal and constitutional experts. BJP president Amit Shah is expected to address the meet.
The idea of simultaneous elections is being keenly pushed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The parliamentary committee for Law and Justice is looking into this possibility as well under the broader topic of electoral reforms. The committee will be submitting its report before the Monsoon Session of Parliament this year, government sources said.
Mr. Sahasrabuddhe said that most political parties have supported the exercise in theory and questions raised by them is confined to its implementation. He added that the conference would see discussions on a host of issues related to its execution and benefits. “Building nationwide discourse and consensus was the need of hour,” he said, adding that the report of the conference would be presented to the government.
