Experts split on simultaneous polls: Panagariya backs, Ahluwalia questions economic benefits

Finance Commission Chairman Arvind Panagariya on Wednesday backed the idea of simultaneous polls, while former Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia was unimpressed with economic benefits of holding general and assembly polls simultaneously.

Panagariya, Ahluwalia alongwith Surjit Bhalla on Wednesday shared their views on simultaneous polls with the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the same subject.

Ahluwalia suggested rather than holding general and state assembly polls together that all assemblies go to the polls together but not with the Lok Sabha. Bhalla supported the "one nation, one election" (ONOE) concept as a "positive force" for democracy but proposed that all state assembly elections be held together at around mid-term of the Lok Sabha, allowing for reduced frequency of polls and still ensuring accountability and checks on political parties, sources said.