Combo polls in Telangana?

Hyderabad: Will the Election Commission of India opt for clubbing Assembly elections in Telangana with Lok Sabha elections? Political circles and state election authorities do not rule out this possibility. According to sources, the ECI is examining two options. One to club the Telangana Assembly elections with Lok Sabha polls and second to hold elections to the state Assembly along with Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram.

Sources said the Second Assembly of Telangana came into existence on January 16, 2019 though the election results were announced in December, and KCR took oath as CM for a second consecutive term on Dec 13. This means that the five-year term of the Assembly ends on Jan 16. On the other hand, 5-year term of Lok Sabha would end in May 2024 and notification for general elections would have to be given in March 2024. Since the gap is not too wide, sources feel that ECI may opt for holding Assembly and LS elections in May.

A senior election officer of Telangana said holding Assembly and Lok Sabha elections separately in a gap of less than three months’ time will put heavy burden on the Election Commission. Separate elections would cost the ECI about Rs 700 crore while if simultaneous polls were held it can save a huge amount. Moreover, the EC would be busy in planning for general elections from September itself. Handling separate elections would put a big challenge before the ECI.

However, the State Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj said that they were going ahead with holding a series of meetings with district electoral officers to ascertain the preparedness for the Assembly elections. He said the three-member EC team will visit the state in August or September to review the arrangements and take a decision whether to hold the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections separately or to go in for simultaneous elections, or to club Telangana Assembly elections with other five states.