Bhubaneswar: Odisha BJP today welcomed the idea of its Narendra Modi-led NDA government to hold the Lok Sabha polls in 2018 in a bid to sync it with the state polls.
Speaking to OTV, senior BJP leader KV Singhdeo said the party would always welcome such move and is well-prepared to take the challenge.
As per reports published in several national media, ruling BJP-led NDA government at the centre is mulling to advance the Lok Sabha polls due in April 2019 to align it with the polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram which are to be held next year.
Besides, Assembly elections in states like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, which are scheduled for May 2019, would be advanced by a few months. However, to do so, the BJP government needs the consent of the ruling parties in these States.
The saffron party is planning to hold the general elections with the state Assembly polls because it wants to cut down the cost burden of holding elections twice, said sources.
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"Lok Sabha can be dissolved and the Election Commission can conduct elections six months prior. Syncing the Lok Sabha polls with the state Assembly elections is not an impossible task but the government should consider aligning both the polls over a period of 10 years," said constitutional expert Subash Kashyap.
Meanwhile, BJP is reportedly in talks with chief ministers of several states over the idea of combining the State polls along with the Lok Sabha elections.