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The idea of holding simultaneous(समकालिक/एक ही समय में होनेवाला) elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies appears to have caught the imagination of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been talking about this for some time now. It is not too much of a leap to surmise(अनुमान/संदेह) that he believes that voters are likely to back the same party in both elections, and that in the absence(अनुपस्थिति) of a national alternative to his candidature at the Centre, such a voting pattern may help the BJP across States too. The Law Commission’s move to seek(तलाश करना/मांगना ) the opinion of the public, political parties, academicians and other stakeholders, on the proposal appears to be aimed at giving concrete(ठोस /मूर्त) shape to this political viewpoint. The Commission has released a three-page summary of its draft working paper, setting out the amendments that may be required in the Constitution(संविधान) and electoral laws. It proposes to put together a report to forward to the Centre after getting the views of the public. Among its “possible recommendations(सिफारिशों /प्रशंसा)” is a “constructive(रचनात्मक/निर्माणकारी) vote of no-confidence”: while expressing lack of confidence in one government, members of the legislature will have to repose trust in an alternative. It also suggests that premature(समयपूर्व /अकाल) dissolution(विघटन/तोड़ना) of the House could be avoided if all members sit together and elect a leader. This would entail a temporary waiver of the anti-defection law so that members could help form a stable government without the fear of disqualification. However, these are reforms that can be adopted even if simultaneous elections are not held.
In principle, simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies have the benefits of saving poll expenditure(खपत/खर्च) and helping ruling parties focus on governance instead of being constantly in election mode. The flip side(उल्टी ओर) is that it is nearly impossible to implement(लागू/उपकरण), as it would mean arbitrarily (मनमाने ढंग से)स्वेच्छया) curtailing(कटौती/संक्षिप्त करना) or extending(विस्तार/फैलाव) the term of existing legislatures to bring their election dates in line with the due date for the rest of the country. This would be the most difficult change to execute(पालन करना/फांसी करना), as such a measure would undermine federalism(संघवाद/संघीयता) as well as representative (प्रतिनिधि/प्रदर्शक) democracy. The Commission has suggested an alternative: categorise(श्रेणीबद्ध करना) States based on proximity(निकटता/सामीप्य) to the next general election, and have one round of State Assembly polls with the next Lok Sabha election, and another round for the remaining States 30 months later. This would mean that India would have a set of elections every two and a half years. But governments have been brought down or have collapsed (हिम्मत /ढहना) on their own, leading to mid-term polls in different States and even at the Centre in different years. Given the difficulties involved in shifting to simultaneous elections, we may have to live with the reality that some part of the country will go to polls every few months.
Important Vocabulary
1.Simultaneous(समकालिक/एक ही समय में होनेवाला)
Synonyms: concurrent, accompanying, agreeing, at the same time, coetaneous
Antonyms: asynchronous, different, divided, following, preceding
2.Premature(समयपूर्व /अकाल)
Synonyms: immature, incomplete, untimely, a bit previous, abortive
Antonyms: backward, careful, cautious, delayed, late
3.Curtailing(कटौती/संक्षिप्त करना)
Synonyms: cut back, decrease, diminish, downsize, alt
Antonyms: develop, enlarge, expand, extend, grow
4.Proximity(निकटता/सामीप्य)
Synonyms: closeness, adjacency, concurrence, contiguity, contentiousness
Antonyms: distance, remoteness
5.Execute(पालन करना/फांसी करना),
Synonyms: assassinate, behead, hang, murder, shoot
Antonyms: create, keep, maintain, abandon, bear
6.Collapsed (हिम्मत /ढहना)
Synonyms: break, cave in, crumple, disintegrate, drop
Antonyms: accomplish, achieve, fix, mend, straighten
Credit To The Hindu News Paper
