The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has opposed the proposal to hold simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies, saying it is a solution in search of a problem.
AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi made the party's stand clear in a letter to the Law Commission of India, which is consulting political parties and other stakeholders before making its final recommendations on the issue of simultaneous elections.
The Hyderabad MP described the issue of simultaneous elections as a "solution in search of a problem". He said no attempts were made so far to analyse if there was a need for simultaneous elections. Instead, certain logistical difficulties - such as the expenditure in holding elections - are being projected as sufficient enough reasons to wholesale amend the basic structure of the Constitution.
"I would like to emphasise that constitutional principles of collective responsibility and legislative oversight of executive cannot be sacrificed at the altar of efficiency and stability. It is not possible to privilege convenience over constitutional guarantees," he wrote.
The MP said it must be noted that parliamentary democracy and federalism are part of the basic structure of the Constitution. These features of the Constitution cannot be amended away by the legislature in any circumstances, let alone for the sake of saving public expenditure.
"Moreover, it is unclear that any significant public interest is served by conducting simultaneous elections," the MIM chief added.
“In fact, it is submitted that the Commission do consider the disparity in power, resources and scale between national and other parties and provide for the strengthening in making its final submissions. Regional and state parties deserve to contest elections on a level-playing field with larger national parties; they deserve the space and time to raise issues of communities that the national parties will ignore,” Owaisi said in his letter.
“It is likely that these issues will find even less attention if elections are held simultaneously. Mechanisms should be proposed that would reduce this disparity and strengthen support for local, state and regional parties,” he concluded.
IANS inputs