Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has called for simultaneous elections the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, echoing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. He believes that it would prevent development projects from lagging behind.
"State polls, general elections and by-polls held at different times hamper development due to the Model Code of Conduct and deployment of election staff and security personnel. The Prime Minister has started a campaign for all elections to be held at the same time so that we don't spend on elections every five years," Adityanath told ANI.
He added: "We have constituted a team in UP under Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh in this regard and asked them to see if it is possible to hold only one election. Only one voters' list should be there and we want to link this voters' list to the Aadhaar Card so that new voters are automatically added after they turn 18 and deceased voters names can be automatically deleted. We are going to send a recommendation to the Centre in this regard."
Both Modi and Shah have hinted at taking such a step to improve the election system in India. They both believe that it is better due to convenience and limiting expenditure. BJP National General Secretary Bhupender Yadav has written to chief ministers of BJP-ruled states on the issue of 'one nation-one election'. Yadav asked all the chief ministers to talk to opposition leaders and arrive at a consensus.
Madhav Godbole, the former home secretary demanded a constitutional amendment for the same after a detailed discussion in Parliament. The government is also in talks with the Election Commission (EC) on the matter. The NITI Aayog has also presented its reccomendations.
