January 02, 2026 08:07 pm (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
‘Epicentre of misgovernance’: Rahul Gandhi blasts Madhya Pradesh govt over deadly water contamination | After Mamdani's letter, 8 US lawmakers push 'fair trial' for Umar Khalid amid UAPA case | ‘Bad neighbours’: Jaishankar shreds Pakistan, defends India’s right to act against cross-border terror | New Year gift for rail passengers! PM Modi to flag off first Vande Bharat sleeper in January | ‘Rs 1 lakh for his tongue’: Shah Rukh Khan faces threats after KKR signs Mushtafizur Rahman amid violence against Hindus in Bangladesh | New Year horror in Switzerland: Dozens feared dead in Crans-Montana bar explosion | Tobacco stocks crushed as govt slaps fresh excise duty from Feb 1 | Vodafone Idea shares explode 10% after surprise settlement and govt relief boost | No third party involved: India govt sources refute China’s Operation Sindoor ceasefire claim | Amit Shah blasts TMC over border fencing; Mamata fires back on Pahalgam and Delhi blast

Ready to hold joint election in 2018: Election Commissioner Rawat

| @indiablooms | Oct 05, 2017, at 06:01 pm
New Delhi, Oct 5 (IBNS): Hinting at a landmark electoral reform in the country, Election Commissioner Of India, OP Rawat, on Thursday said the commission is ready to hold a joint election, Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha together, in 2018 if more machines are available.

Supplementing the proposal put forward by the Modi government, Rawat told the media: "Simultaneous elections are possible in the country if more machines are available."

Earlier, the central government has proposed for holding a unified election across all levels, panchayat, Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha.

Now, the question has cropped up whether the government will push for a constitutional change to hold a joint election in all states and union territories of the country or only organise the Lok Sabha election with the poll bound states in 2018.

Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Mizoram are scheduled to be held in 2018.

Though the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s ally partner in Bihar, the Janata Dal (United), has supported the central government's plan of unified election, the ruling party in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) objected to it, calling it "a wild idea".

While the assembly election in Bihar is scheduled to be held in 2020, West Bengal still has more than three years to go for the state polls.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.