Former Election Commissioner of India (ECI) Om Prakash Rawat reportedly said that holding simultaneous general and state Assembly Elections in the country would only be possible if provisions of the Constitution and laws in the country are changed. Rawat also said that if, despite these changes, simultaneous elections were held, there would only be losses in lieu of savings.
Speaking to Indian Express about India potentially holding simultaneous elections, Rawat said there were four such instances — in 1952, 1957, 1962 and 1967 — when simultaneous elections were held in India. He added that it was only post-1967, when no-confidence motions were invoked, and state and general Assemblies were dissolved that simultaneous elections were not conducted.
Stating there was never any doubt about India’s readiness in holding simultaneous elections, Rawat said, “… To bring Assemblies in sync you have to change the Constitution and the laws; it’s not in place. Firstly, you’ll have to change five Articles of the Constitution — sections of the Representation of the People Act. Then, the issue of logistics comes up. Once the legal framework is in place, we can say that so many poll personnel, machines, companies of paramilitary etc will be required. All that can be arranged in one year. But we first need to have a legal framework.”
Giving a statistical breakdown of logistical areas that need to be addressed, Rawat added, “At any point in time, we have one million polling stations. Right now, we are managing all elections with just about 17 lakh machines. Now, if you have simultaneous elections, we will need 34 lakh machines; double of what we have. And then you have to maintain the inventory for five years, without any use. So, instead of savings, there may be losses and the costs could get higher.”
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Demonetisation and Elections
One of the reasons cited for demonetisation drive by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2016 was removal of black money from the system. Two years on, goal-posts for need for demonetisation have been shifted far away from its initial, purported narrative.
With several state assembly elections having been held in the country post-demonetisation, the former ECI shared that demonetisation contributed to “absolutely nothing” in stopping black money from being churned in the system, during election time.
According to the Indian Express report, Rawat said, “After demonetisation, we seized a record amount of money during elections. Even in elections to these five states, seizures have been close to Rs 200 crores. It shows that money during elections is coming from sources which are very influential and are not affected by such measures.”
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