Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat
Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat on Thursday said there are no chances anytime soon that simultaneous elections will take place for the state assemblies along with the Lok Sabha elections 2019.
In Aurangabad, when Rawat was asked that if it was feasible to hold simultaneous LS and state Assembly elections in the near future, he said "Koi chance nahi" (no chance at all).
For holding simultaneous polls, a legal framework is needed to be in place, he said.
"The lawmakers will take at least a year to frame a law that can be enforceable. This process takes time. As soon as the Bill to amend the Constitution is ready, we (the Election Commission) will know that things are now moving)," Rawat said, reported news agency PTI.
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In the recent weeks, there has been some speculation that Assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram due this year-end may be deferred and held simultaneously along with the general elections.
On December 15, the term of the Mizoram Assembly is ending. The terms of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan assemblies will end on January 5, January 7 and January 20, 2019, respectively.
LS polls are scheduled for April-May 2019.
For the Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission starts preparations 14 months before the scheduled timeframe of polling, Rawat said.
"The Commission has a staff strength of just 400 but deploys 1.11 crore people on poll duty during elections," he said, news agency further reported.
