Amid a burning debate on the topic of 'One Nation, One Election', Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has said the Election Commission of India was ready to act as per constitutional provisions and the Representative of the People (RP) Act and was mandated to deliver elections before time. He added that the body was always ready to conduct elections as per legal provisions.
Responding to a question on ‘one nation, one election, the Kumar said that the poll body was required to “deliver elections before the time” as per constitutional provisions and the RP Act.
He elaborated that the time, according to legal provisions, is five years from the date of the first sitting of Parliament after a new government is formed. He said that the poll body can announce the general elections six months before the end of this time. The norms are similar for assembly elections, he added.
The Centre last week formed a high-level committee under former president Ram Nath Kovind to examine the feasibility of holding simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies, bringing 'one nation, one election', under the spotlight.
This comes amid heavy criticism by the Opposition who criticised and questioned the Centre's push for simultaneous polls.
Kumar and other top ECI officials were on a visit to Bhopal to hold meetings with political parties and the administration and enforcement agencies over election preparedness in BJP-governed Madhya Pradesh, where polls are due by November, news agency PTI reported.
The final voters’ list will be published on October 5, he said. The state has nearly 5.5 crore voters, he said.
Madhya Pradesh Polls
The commission said the final voters’ list for Madhya Pradesh polls be published on October 5, said Kumar and urged new eligible voters to get enrolled and apply for correction if they find any discrepancies in their data.
Madhya Pradesh has 5.52 crore voters, including 2.85 crore male and 2.67 female electors. The state also has 1,336 transgender persons, 4.85 lakh people with disabilities, 7.12 lakh voters aged above 80 years, 6,180 people who are more than 100 years old, 18.86 lakh new voters and 75,426 service voters, PTI reported.
Kumar added that the ECI was enabling a system to allow senior citizens and persons with disabilities to vote from their homes in the upcoming polls if they applied for the same.
BJP has already announced 39 candidates in Madhya Pradesh, which has 230 assembly seats.
On the issue of freebies, Kumar said political parties have the right to inform voters about what they are offering to the electors but need to specify the timeline of fulfilling the promise, the expenditure to be incurred on it and the arrangement of funds.
He added that the poll panel has made a detailed report in this regard but the issue of freebies in polls is sub-judice with the matter reaching the Supreme Court.