Advani seeks simultaneous polls for LS, state assemblies

New Delhi, Aug 12:

leader L K Advani today strongly pitched for holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies which should have a "fixed tenure" and sought the President's initiative in this regard, saying frequent polls affect decision-making process.

"Some time back I had occasion to discuss this matter with the Prime Minister and then Leader of the House in Lok Sabha and now the Rashtrapati Pranab Mukherjee. I found both of them receptive to the suggestion."

"I offered that there should be no midway dissolution of either the Lok Sabha or the state assemblies. Both these institutions must have a fixed tenure," Advani wrote on his blog today.

Noting that a lot is being written these days about the need for election reforms to curb the role of money power, he urged the President to take "an initiative" to ensure poll reforms in their totality.

"Let the present government in which he (the President) himself has been a principal player accomplish this one thing at least: a fixed tenure for Lok Sabha and state assemblies, and simultaneous elections at the Centre and states every five years," Advani said.

In this regard, he referred to the US where elections are held after every four years and also pointed to a legislation enacted by Great Britain last year for a fixed term of Parliament.

"When for six years we were in the NDA government we actually experienced how impending elections even in a remote corner of the country used to influence decision-making in New Delhi. I feel this is not good either for governance or for the polity," he said.

PTI