The law Commission is set to hold consultations with all major political parties on July 7 and 8 to discuss the feasibility of conducting simultaneous lok Sabha and State Assembly elections.
The Congress on Monday confirmed that they had received the note from the law Commission but it did not disclose whether its representatives will attend the meeting. The Commission's previous attempt to seek the views of the political parties on the issue had evoked no response.
None of the political parties had responded to the law Commission's "working paper" on holding simultaneous lok Sabha and Assembly polls. The proposal is being pushed by the Central Government.
BJP, Congress, CPI, CPI(M), TMC, BSP and NCP are the national parties recognised by the Election Commission. Recently, Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat had a word of caution on simultaneous polls. He said the legal framework required for holding the two elections together will take a lot of time to get ready.
Seeking to give shape to the government's concept of "one nation, one election", the law Commission's internal working paper has recommended holding the lok Sabha and assembly polls simultaneously but in two phases beginning 2019. The second phase of simultaneous polls can take place in 2024, the document states. States which will come under phase-II are Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Delhi and Punjab. To hold elections in these states along with lS polls, the terms of the assemblies have to be extended.
"Some provisions of the Representation of the People Act would also have to be amended by a simple majority in Parliament", it said. The document has proposed amending the Constitution (Articles 83 (2) and 172 (1) dealing with tenures of the lok Sabha and the state Assemblies) and the Representation of the People Act to extend the terms of state legislative Assemblies to effect the move. It suggests that in case a government falls mid-term, the new government would be elected for the remaining period of that term, and not for a fresh five-year rule.