The Law Commission has invited the views of seven national parties and over 59 regional ones, 14 are set to make their representations on Sunday and Monday.
Leaders from some prominent Opposition parties are putting forward their representations before the Law Commission in its consultation on simultaneous elections after deliberations among themselves to arrive at a consensus. A senior party leader in the Congress said some of the "like-minded" Opposition parties are deliberating together on a collective response. The consultations will be held on July 8 and 9.
Leaders from the Janata Dal (Secular), Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal, Telugu Desam Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, the Left as well as Nationalist Congress Party are part of the discussions with the Congress; and they are opposing simultaneous elections on various grounds.
Of these, the Trinamool Congress has opposed the elections on grounds that it is "unconstitutional", while Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu has already said that simultaneous elections will weaken regional parties. CPM leader Sitaram Yechury has called simultaneous polls "inherently anti-democratic", and has contended that " "negates the principles of federalism which is a fundamental feature of India's Constitution".
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik has come out in support of the simultaneous polls stating that elections disrupt developmental works. While the AIADMK had initially agreed to it, the leadership seems to have a change of mind, and its position is not yet clear. While BJP's ally in Assam Bodo People's Front is supportive of the idea, its Goa ally, the Goa Forward Bloc has opposed it.
The Law Commission has invited the views of seven national parties and over 59 regional ones, 14 are set to make their representations on Sunday and Monday. To bring the change, an amendment in the Constitution will need to be brought in, followed by a change in the Representation of the People (RP) Act and the Rules of the Procedure in the Lok Sabha. The changes will then have to be ratified in state assemblies.
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