Law ministry seeks EC reply to parliamentary panel’s queries on simultaneous polls: Report

The Union law ministry has sent 20 questions to the Election Commission asked by a joint parliamentary committee about several aspects of conducting simultaneous elections, including potential savings and how the poll panel intends to handle polling irregularities, The Indian Express reported.

On December 17, the Union government introduced two bills in Parliament. The bills would enable the conduct of simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies.

The joint parliamentary committee is holding consultations on the draft legislations and had its first meeting on January 8, the newspaper reported. The questions were sent by the Union law ministry to the Election Commission in the week following the meeting.

The letter sent to the Election Commission asked questions about the logistics of holding “one nation, one election”, including the number of Electronic Voting Machines that would be needed, the costs involved and the potential savings from simultaneous elections.

The parliamentary panel also sought clarity on how the Election Commission plans to manage polling across Assembly constituencies and Lok Sabha seats within an eight-hour period, The Indian Express reported.

Additionally, the letter asked how the proposed constitutional changes might affect the poll body’s role and how it would handle the challenges posed by mid-term elections or bye-elections, especially in terms of imposing the Model Code of…

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