CHENNAI: Even as the Law Commission is gearing up for eliciting views of recognised political parties before finalising its recommendations for simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, the principal opposition party in Tamil Nadu, DMK, is set to oppose the idea at the consultations scheduled for July 7 and 8 in New Delhi.
The party, which uncompromisingly fights for state autonomy, has been against synchronising the Assembly polls with the Lok Sabha elections as the poll plank and issues differ. National issues mainly dominate the scene during the Lok Sabha polls while regional issues are in focus when the voters elect new governments in the states, the party believes.
It is going to submit its views and concerns at the meeting called by the Law Commission.
“We have always been against holding simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies because both polls are fought on different issues. And there are a lot of intricacies related to holding simultaneous elections,” senior DMK leader and Rajya Sabha member T K S Elangovan told Express.
Questioning the possibilities of such synchronised elections, if a state government was sacked midway invoking Article 356, he asked whether it could wait so long till the tenure of the Lok Sabha ends to face the elections? “It looks odd to think of it,” he observed. If simultaneous elections are to be held in the nation, it requires Constitutional amendments, he said.