BJP CMs to Mull Simultaneous Polls on 28 Feb: Shivraj Singh

Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are some BJP-governed states that are due to go to the polls in 2018.

File photo of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

(Photo: PTI)

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday, 26 February said the issue of simultaneous elections will be discussed at the meeting of Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states in New Delhi on Wednesday as part of efforts to build a consensus on the issue. In a reply to a query at a meeting with a select group of journalists arranged by the BJP's Good Governance Cell, Chouhan said:

There’s a meeting of Chief Ministers on 28 February in Delhi. We will discuss and try for a consensus on holding simultaneous elections for state assemblies and Parliament. 

Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states and Deputy Chief Ministers of states where the BJP is in alliance, altogether representing 19 states, would attend a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review development work and to plan a strategy for the upcoming polls in some states.

Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh are some of the major BJP-governed states that are due to go to the polls in 2018.

I am always of the view that the elections should be held simultaneously. Regular elections are a major hurdle to development. We are always in 24x7 preparation mode for the elections.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, MP CM

Even if there’s an election in another state, our officers are called for election duty in that state and it hampers work here. We have Assembly elections in December and we would have just started work, then Parliament elections would be on us and there would be model code of conduct.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, MP CM

Chouhan said regular elections do not only hurt the states but is also a major hurdle to the central government.

"And people have a weird parameter that even if you lose one election, they start saying that the government has lost faith (of the people)," he said adding that it (simultaneous polls) was in the interest of the country and all should go for it.

(This story has been edited for length.)