Dissolve LS, hold early polls with states, Cong dares PM

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 14

Buoyed by pre-poll survey results of upcoming state elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the Congress on Tuesday dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dissolve the 16th Lok Sabha and hold an early General Election.

Turning the BJP-led “one nation-one poll” debate on its head, the Congress said while postponing state elections until 2019 was impossible without a constitutional amendment, preponing Lok Sabha elections and holding them with four due state elections was possible.

Taking the lead, Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot said the Congress would welcome an early dissolution of the Lok Sabha by the PM and simultaneous elections to the next LS along with polls in Mizoram, Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh.

The Congress suggestion comes in the wake of BJP chief Amit Shah’s pitch for one nation-one election.

The BJP is talking of postponing the upcoming state polls and holding 12 state elections with Lok Sabha next year — a move Congress calls constitutionally impossible.

Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat on Tuesday reiterated what the Congress had been arguing. “Simultaneous elections are not possible without a legal framework as any extension or curtailment of the term of assemblies will require a constitutional amendment,” the CEC said.

Gehlot attacked the BJP on the issue and said the PM’s intent was only to play politics on the matter and his intentions were not clear. “Had the BJP been serious and clear hearted on the issue, its leaders would have called a meeting of all parties to debate the issue and find solution to vexed problems of possible dissolutions of Assemblies and Lok Sabha. But that wasn’t done because the intention is to just throw another slogan, deflect attention from government failures and mean nothing,” he said.

The former Rajasthan CM indicated the Congress’ preparedness for polls. “There is only one way the PM can hold simultaneous polls. He can dissolve the LS early and hold General Election with state elections. But the BJP is anguished and fears defeat in the coming polls,” Gehlot said.

‘Fake voters in Rajasthan’ 

The Congress alleged there were 42 lakh duplicate entries in the voters’ list in Rajasthan and urged the EC to remove such inconsistencies. It  alleged that 70 lakh voters had been added to the voters’ list from 2013 to 2018 

Congress leaders submitted a memorandum to the CEC, requesting the EC to sanitise electoral roll as published by the Rajasthan CEO on July 31, 2018, and remove inconsistencies