Tuesday 29 / April / 2025
New Delhi: The Election Commission will take a call on the dates of Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand, due early next year, based on the inputs provided by security forces and state law and order machinery, Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi said on Wednesday.
He said the schedule will be finalised keeping in mind the weather and examination schedule.
"We are trying to assess the requirement of security forces, climate and exam schedule -- all these inputs are being taken into consideration. Only then we will be able to say whether they will be staggered or multi-phase," the CEC told reporters on the sidelines of an event.
To another question on the subject, he said, "As far as the schedule is concerned, the Commission has not given a thought as yet."
While the term of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly ends in May next, the terms of assemblies of Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand will end in March, 2017.
Against the backdrop of Ram temple issue hogging the limelight in Uttar Pradesh again, he was asked whether he thinks the Commission should be given powers to prevent political parties from making statements in poll-bound states where elections have not yet been announced.
Skirting the issue, Zaidi said once the polls are announced and the model code comes enforce, the EC will ensure its compliance in letter and spirit.
"EC has in the past ensured strict compliance of the model code and will ensure the same in future too," he said.
Terming use of money power a "matter of concern", the CEC said in the last elections, it was a matter of concern and in the coming polls too there is feedback that there is possibility of misuse of money power.
"We have a strategy and we are making it more robust," he said, adding that the poll watchdog has already written to the government to make bribery an electoral offence.
The idea of compulsory voting has not been found practical, Zaidi said, months after the government rejected a similar demand in the Lok Sabha.
"Issue of compulsory voting as prevalent in some countries has been a matter of discussion earlier...we found the idea not so practical. But we will like to hear," he said.
In February while responding to a private member's bill introduced in the Lok Sabha on compulsory voting, then Law Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda had said though he appreciated the intention of the members, it would not be possible for the government to introduce compulsory voting and penalise those who failed to exercise their franchise.
The Law Commission in its report on electoral reforms submitted in March last had also decided against recommending compulsory voting by terming it as "highly undesirable" for a variety of reasons such as being undemocratic, illegitimate, expensive, unable to improve quality political participation and awareness, and difficult to implement.
Later, responding to a question by reporters on the holding of simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections, Zaidi said the Commission has told a Parliamentary committee and the Law Ministry that such an exercise can be undertaken once political parties are unanimous in amending the constitution and the poll panel's certain demands like buying new EVMs are met.
In its reply to the Law Ministry in May on the issue, the Commission had said it supported the proposal but cost involved will be to the tune of over Rs90 billion.
Deposing before the parliamentary panel which gave its report on 'Feasibility of holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state Legislative Assemblies' in December last, the Commission had expressed similar "difficulties". The Commission has told the government as well as the committee that simultaneous conduct of elections would require large-scale purchase of Electronic Voting Machines and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines.
While as per electoral law, elections can be held six months prior to the end of the term of a House, the term of the House cannot be extended except during proclamation of Emergency.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said during a meeting of BJP office-bearers on March 19 that state elections coupled with local-level polls, spread across virtually every year, often "hinder" the execution of welfare measures. He was keen on simultaneous elections once in five years.
