The Election Commission of India (ECI) expressed inability to implement proposal from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to hold simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and all 32 state and union territory assemblies in the immediate future on Tuesday, citing legal framework as well as logistics. Even the ally JD(U) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the idea was theoretically correct, but not possible with the upcoming Lok Sabha polls scheduled in May 2019.
On another proposal to club assembly polls in 11 states alongwith Lok Sabha elections, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) OP Rawat said it was only possible if those states dissolve their Houses voluntarily.
The CEC said that currently the commission does not have enough machines to conduct such a massive exercise. "There are not enough VVPAT machines to conduct simultaneous polls in 2019."
"If such a thing is to be attempted, more VVPAT machines will have to be ordered and a decision in this regard will have to be taken in a month or two," said Rawat. The terms of 11 state assemblies of Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odhisha, Sikkim, Telangana, Haryana and Maharashtra are ending between December 2018 and November 2019.
Earlier, reports suggested that the BJP was pushing the idea of deferring some state assembly elections and advancing others to club them with Lok Sabha polls. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, on Tuesday, however, rejected them.
The party president Amit Shah on Monday had told the Law Commission that his party was willing to suggest a comprehensive structure for the successful implementation of 'One Nation, One Election'. He further said that criticism against the idea was "politically motivated and inappropriate".
Rawat, however, said the idea couldn't be implemented without a legal framework as any extension or curtailment of the term of assemblies will require a constitutional amendment. "It is feasible, although it is mostly hypothetical.
If there is no provision under the Constitution, the commission cannot do anything about it," he said. "If the term of some state assemblies needs to be curtailed or extended, then a constitutional amendment will be required. Logistics arrangements with regard to 100 per cent availability of VVPATs (paper trail machines) will be a constraint," he told reporters.
He said the EC was in the process of procuring new EVMs and VVPATs ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. While all required EVMs -- 13.95 lakh ballot units and 9.3 lakh control units -- will be delivered by September 30, another 16.15 lakh VVPATs will also be delivered well before the end of November. Some additional VVPATs are being procured as a cushion in case these machines malfunction and need to be replaced during polls. Over 11 per cent of the 10,300 VVPAT machines across 10 states had developed faults and had to be replaced during the May 28 bypolls. Therefore, for simultaneous elections, nearly 24 lakh EVMs will be required. The EC officials had said they would need around Rs 4,500 crore to buy nearly 12 lakh additional EVMs and VVPAT machines.
CEC OP Rawat explains
According to Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat, there are not enough VVPAT machines to conduct simultaneous polls in 2019. “If such a thing is to be attempted, more VVPAT machines will have to be ordered and a decision in this regard will have to be taken in a month or two.”
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