BJP ally in Goa opposes simultaneous polls
New Delhi, July 7 : The Goa Forward Party (GFP), a constituent of the BJP-led Goa government, on Saturday opposed the idea of simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies, saying the proposal is against regional sentiments.
"We have expressed our opposition to it. Because it goes against federalism. It would affect the federal structure of the country.
"The entire proposal is impractical. It won't work," GFP President Vijai Sardesai told reporters after attending a meeting convened by the Law Commission over its proposal of simultaneous polls.
He said that if the proposal was implemented, the regional issues would go to the back burner.
"The idea is good but will dilute issues of regional nature. If there is simultaneous polls, regional parties like us and the issues they spouse... Which is why we are opposing it. It is against regional sentiment," the Town and Country Planning and Agriculture Minister said here.
The Law Commission has invited all the national and recognised state political parties to hold consultations on Saturday and Sunday on the practicality of conducting simultaneous polls.
The Commission has prepared a draft paper on "Simultaneous Elections - Constitutional and Legal Perspectives" and has sought opinions of "all stakeholders" including political parties, constitutional experts, bureaucrats, academia and others on the paper before finalising its report and sending it to the government.
The Election Commission has repeatedly said it was capable of holding simultaneous elections provided the legal framework and logistics were in place.
Most of the political parties have, however, not warmed up to the idea citing various reasons besides arguing that it would not be good for democracy.
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
