The final word

The final word

EC rules out simultaneous elections by aiming to complete four assembly polls by December 15.

Election Commission has done well to scotch idle speculation in recent days on the possibility of clubbing Lok Sabha elections with 11assembly polls. Drastic solutions like imposing President’s Rule in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram were mooted so that polls here could be delayed and synchronised with general elections. But EC has checked this harebrained idea before it gains any more traction, by stating that President’s Rule cannot be applied for wanton reasons. Recognising the unconstitutionality of not conducting elections on time, EC is going ahead with preparations and is expected to deliver results for these four states by December 15.

It also flagged the limited number of VVPAT machines that restrict the conduct of Lok Sabha elections next year with a maximum of eight simultaneous assembly polls. VVPATs are a recent entrant to the electoral process and their current failure rates pose an added challenge. So at best, BJP can pursue early dissolution of Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand assemblies whose terms end in late 2019. Anything more may be logistical overkill for EC at this point.

Ideas like constitutional amendments for simultaneous elections and imposing President’s Rule without constitutional breakdown are a quixotic attempt to fix what isn’t broken. The harrowing experience of Emergency where Lok Sabha and some assemblies were extended beyond five years and other assemblies dissolved to suit Indira Gandhi’s political interest is worth recalling. Tinkering with time-tested conventions that guarantee five year terms can damage institutional equilibrium. Such moves may even be called the political equivalent of demonetisation, which proved enormously disruptive in the economic sphere. The discourse around simultaneous polls has run its course for 2019; EC’s plain speak has hopefully settled the debate.