Nitish supports PM Modi on the issue of holding simultaneous elections

PATNA: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Monday supported PM Narendra Modi on the issue of holding simultaneous elections to the

Lok Sabha

and state assemblies, but ruled out any possibility of having mid-term assembly election in the state.

“Holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies is, in principle, a very correct policy. It will provide substantial time to elected governments for delivering on their promises. I support the idea of simultaneous polls, but it will require certain amendments to be made to the Constitution,” Nitish told reporters on the sidelines of his weekly ‘

Lok Samvad

’ programme here.

Nitish, who is also the JD(U) national president, further said “I support the idea of holding all the elections - Lok Sabha, state assemblies, Panchayati Raj Institutions and urban local bodies - in one go because it would reduce the atmosphere of election to just to a period of four or five months.”

Responding to a question on whether he would support the mid-term elections in Bihar, Nitish said that as per the initial dialogue started by the NITI Aayog, simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls will be held from 2024. “Let the nation debate over it. If consensus emerges, we will support the Centre’s idea of holding simultaneous polls,” he said.

Nitish further said that JD(U) state president Bashishtha Narayan Singh's statement supporting the idea of holding simultaneous elections was misinterpreted by few people. “They projected it as if I am in favour of midterm election in Bihar. This is not the fact,” the CM said.

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