CHENNAI: The state government has sought a detailed discussion on the idea of ‘One Nation, One Election,’ proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that it would soon convey its views as well as that of the party, to the Centre, AIADMK senior and state fisheries minister D. Jayakumar has said.
“This idea of holding simultaneous polls needs to be discussed in a detailed manner taking into account several issues. For instance, the Lok Sabha election is over (in April). There are States that may go to polls in two or three years or more. It is better to implement it after addressing these issues,” he said on Wednesday.
In the national capital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi resumed his efforts to build consensus on holding simultaneous polls - a subject that found mention in the BJP’s 2014 poll manifesto and was later voiced by both Mr. Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.
The idea of holding simultaneous polls is not new. The country’s first four elections held in 1952, 1957, 1962 and 1967, were actually ‘One Nation, One Election’ before the fourth Lok Sabha had to be dissolved prematurely.When reporters sought his views, Mr. Jayakumar said the Centre should convene a meeting to deliberate on the issue of simultaneous polls. “We will convey the views of the government and our party to the Centre soon,” the Minister added.
Wednesday’s meeting in the national capital was attended by leaders including Congress president Rahul Gandhi, T. R. Baalu and Kanimozhi of the DMK, Supriya Sule of the NCP and Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference. Media reports indicated that the AIADMK was not represented at the meet.
