Why 3-Month Duration For Elections Now, When 2004 LS Poll Took Only 20 Days? Tamil Nadu Minister Asks EC

Tamil Nadu Minister PTR Palanivel Thiyagarajan has come down heavily on the Election Commission for stretching the Lok Sabha elections for three months.

He noted that the 2004 Lok Sabha polls were completed in 20 days. "20 years ago in 2004, the Lok Sabha elections were conducted in 20 days. But now they are holding the same Lok Sabha elections for three months. How is this justified? This means that one is less efficient. Otherwise, it seems that they are delaying the elections because of doing something wrong," News9 quoted the Tamil Nadu Minister for Information Technology & Digital Services as saying.

The Lok Sabha Election 2024, covering a total of 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, will take place in 7 phases. The first phase begins on April 19 and the last phase of polling is scheduled for June 1. The results will be announced on June 4.

Taking a potshot at the EC, he claimed that it might take two years if 'One Nation, One Election is held.

The Government of India is currently contemplating the proposal of 'One Nation, One Election', which aims to synchronize elections for the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies. The objective is to conduct these elections simultaneously, either on a single day or within a specified time frame.

Criticising the BJP over corruption, the Tamil Nadu minister said, "BJP believes that money and power are important. The prices of petrol, diesel, and gas cylinders have increased manifold in the last 10 years. The central BJP government has only done monetary manipulation of money and money, but nothing else has happened. The Bangladesh, which we helped to gain independence, has become economically superior to us. So look how far our economy has gone backward,"

Tamil Nadu will vote in a single-phase on April 19.