New Delhi: The constitution of a committee by the Centre to explore the feasibility of “one nation, one election” has opened up the possibility of Lok Sabha polls being advanced so that they could be held with a string of state assembly polls.
Headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind, the committee has been tasked with exploring how the country could go back to having simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly polls, as was the case till 1967.
The terms of at least ten state Assemblies will end before or around the scheduled time for the general elections in 2024.
While Assembly elections in five states — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Mizoram and Chhattisgarh — are due by the end of this year, polls in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Jharkhand are likely to be held along with the Lok Sabha elections.
The tentative schedule of the completion of the terms for various states and Union Territories include Mizoram: December 2023, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana: January 2024, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim: June 2024, Haryana, Maharashtra: November 2024, Jharkhand: December 2024, Delhi: February 2025, Bihar: November 2025, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal: May 2026, Puducherry: June 2026, Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand: March 2027, Uttar Pradesh: May 2027, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh: December 2027, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura: March 2028 and Karnataka: May 2028.
There is still no clarity on the completion of the term of Jammu and Kashmir UT, which was formed after the erstwhile Assembly was dissolved in 2018. (Agencies)
