The Hindu : Simultaneous polls will lead to `cheating like hell': Lyngdoh

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 07, 2003

National

National

Simultaneous polls will lead to `cheating like hell': Lyngdoh

NEW DELHI AUG. 6. "There are certain States which need special attention. In terms of electoral records, it is very bad. Obviously, we cannot allow everybody to go to the polls at the same time. It is not a good situation to have everybody going to the polls at the same time," the Chief Election Commissioner, J.M. Lyngdoh, has said.

He was commenting on the proposal for simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in an interview to PTI.

"We won't be able to pay attention. They will cheat like hell and we won't know what to do with that."

In any case, why should any State be oriented towards parliamentary elections, he asked. "There is nothing in democracy which says Parliament is more important than Assembly. They all have the same weightage. Why should not Parliament be oriented towards Assembly elections?" Asked whether the Commission had rejected the proposal outright and would it not formally consider the issue, he said: "there is no question of our not considering it. As a matter of fact, we have to do that. If they (Government) make constitutional changes, then we have to implement it. We are not interested in being a debating society."

Asked whether the Commission was in a position to hold the Lok Sabha elections along with the five Assembly polls this yearend, he said: "there is nothing which is not possible. But it is a question whether it ought to be done. In any case, if you do that you will be depriving the present Lok Sabha members one year of their term. It can be advanced to February. You make constitutional changes. You can reposition everything. But this is bad. Well, somebody has to suffer".

To a question about the preparedness of the Commission to hold a snap Lok Sabha poll, Mr. Lyngdoh said: "we have got the electoral rolls ready. But they have to dissolve Parliament and we have got six months after that. It will not be snap for us".

Asked when the Commission would initiate the process for Assembly elections for the five States, he said the earliest the Assembly in one State had to be constituted was the first week of December.

So, the elections had to be finished before December.

On the requirement of security forces for the polls, he said the Commission had not discussed it so far.

Asked how he visualised the electoral campaign would be in the backdrop of the Gujarat polls and visible signs that Hindutva and issues such as Ram temple and Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin would be raked up, the CEC said: "One doesn't know. It is too early to say what will happen. I am not an expert in such matters. As far as we are concerned we want to see that the elections go off well. If they want to abuse each other, they are free to do."

On Parliament enacting a law to legalise corporate donations to political parties, he said one had to look into the entire issue.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National