Congress challenges Modi to announce early polls

congress-ec-ahlawat Congress Party leaders Ashok Gehlot, Avinash Pandey, Sachin Pilot, C.P. Joshi, Vivek Tankha and others leave after a meeting with Election Commissioner at Nirvachan Sadan, in New Delhi | Sanjay Ahlawat

The Congress on Tuesday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dissolve the Lok Sabha and advance general elections to be held along with the Assembly polls slated for end of 2018.

This is a counter to the BJP's reported plans to hold elections in 11 states together with the Lok Sabha polls scheduled for May, 2019. This would involve postponing elections in the states that go to polls later this year, including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

"Modiji should dissolve the Lok Sabha and move forward Lok Sabha polls to be held together with the Assembly elections. We are ready for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections being held together," AICC General Secretary Ashok Gehlot said.

Modi and his party have made a strong pitch for simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. And the ruling dispensation is reported to be toying with the idea of holding Assembly polls in 11 states together with the Lok Sabha elections. Besides postponing some Assembly elections and putting those states under President's rule, the idea would involve advancing elections in some other states.

Throwing the gauntlet to Modi, Gehlot said the Prime Minister can announce early Lok Sabha elections either in his independence day speech or in his Mann Ki Baat.

Gehlot said that the Congress has already told the Law Commission that simultaneous elections are not possible.

"Had Modiji and Amit Shahji been sincere about it, they would have consulted other political parties and taken everyone on board. They are doing all this only to try and gain political mileage," Gehlot said.

He claimed that Modi and his party have realised that they are not going to win in the coming round of Assembly polls as well as in the Lok Sabha elections, hence they have resorted to talking about simultaneous elections.

“We will, in fact, welcome early Lok Sabha polls. It will come as a big respite for the people who do not want to live in an atmosphere of fear and hatred anymore,” Gehlot said.

Meanwhile, Vivek Tankha, who heads the party's legal cell, said that if any attempt is made to postpone Assembly elections and place the states going to polls under President's rule, the Congress will definitely move court.