Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, 29 January, asked the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders to works towards creating an environment which favours holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, a BJP ally said after a meeting of the ruling alliance, PTI reported.
On the topic of simultaneous polls, Modi said the leaders can start debating the matter and help create a positive atmosphere in its favour, a leader, who attended the meeting, told PTI.
The Prime Minister emphasised on the need for holding polls together, saying a continuous cycle of elections across the country harms developmental works due to enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, besides incurring a huge cost.
President Kovind Suggests Simultaneous Elections in Parliament
President Ram Nath Kovind pitched for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies in his maiden address to the joint session of Parliament on Monday ahead of the 2018 Budget Session of Parliament.
Kovind said the reason for the same was that frequent elections impede the speed of development as officials have to assist in conducting polls. He said there should be more dialogue among political parties for simultaneous polls and efforts made towards arriving at an agreement.
There is concern among people sensitive to governance about the adverse impact of elections being held in one or other part of the country. Frequent elections not only entail more burden on human resources, the imposition of model code (of conduct) also impedes the development process of the country.President Ram Nath Kovind in Parliament
"Hence, there should be greater dialogue and discussion on simultaneous polls and efforts made for agreement among political parties," he said.
The President's statement comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an interview with Zee News, batted for simultaneous polls in the country saying it would save a lot of resources.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)
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