ABSTRACT
During the past few years a new debate which has emerged in India is about the need for holding simultaneous elections for both the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections. It first began with Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressing the need for holding simultaneous elections for all the three tiers of government, local body, state assembly, and national elections. But soon the focus shifted to holding simultaneous elections for state assembly and the Lok Sabha. Various advantages are being cited for holding simultaneous elections, but equally strong are the arguments posited against the proposal of holding simultaneous elections. Both the arguments for and against the proposal for holding simultaneous elections are put forward very passionately without citing adequate evidence neither of advantages nor possible disadvantages of this proposal. While this issue was raised by Narendra Modi in his first term as the prime minister, he reiterated this need for a country like India more firmly after assuming his second term as prime minister. Using evidences, this chapter analyzes the possible advantages and disadvantages of holding simultaneous elections for both the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
