Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik
Lok Sabha elections 2019: Terming the idea of holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the "brainchild" of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, BJD MP Pinaki Mishra said the party's view on the matter would be placed before the Law Commission.
BJD fully supports the proposal for holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha as party president Naveen Patnaik was the first to come out with the idea and put it into practice in 2004, the Puri MP told reporters on Sunday.
Mishra said the party has been called by the Law Commission for a meeting on July 10 and he will present a written representation on BJDs view point on the matter.
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"The idea (simultaneous polls) was mooted by Naveen Patnaik. He took a bold step by implementing the same in 2004. The Chief Minister is the originator of the idea and therefore the party whole heartedly supports it," he said.
Assembly polls in Odisha have been held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections since 2004. Though assembly election in Odisha was due in 2005, it was advanced by a year and held in 2004 along with Lok Sabha polls in a bid to synchronise both, he said.
Patnaik had on June 26 announced BJD's support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposal for holding simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and state assemblies saying elections throughout the year disturb development works.
Among the other political parties which have supported the idea of ‘one nation one election’ are JDU, SP and TRS.
Commenting on the topic of ‘one nation one poll’ Janata Dal (United) on Sunday said the party is in the favour but it thinks it will not be easy to conduct the same.
The Samajwadi Party favoured the idea. Senior Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav said the initiative should be implemented in 2019 itself. "The SP is in favour of simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies," Yadav said.
The TRS favoured the idea too. Supporting the proposal, B Vinod Kumar of the TRS said, "Our party President and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao said we are strongly in favour of simultaneous elections. This can save a lot of money, time and wasteful expenditure... The Chief Ministers and Prime Minister can also function for the period of five years without disturbance."
The Law Commission had invited all the national and recognised state political parties to hold consultations on Saturday and on Sunday on the practicality of conducting simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and state legislatures.
(With PTI inputs)
