Govt Wants Simultaneous Elections, But Lok Sabha Elections Will Not Be Advanced: Arun Jaitley

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has poured cold water on speculation the government could advance general elections, ordinarily due in May 2019, to later this year to coincide with the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

A steady stream of comments this week from the President, Prime Minister and the Law Minister making the case for simultaneous elections had triggered speculation that they were setting the stage for advancing general elections.

But Jaitley told News18 Network that he did not see that as a possibility.

"Government wants simultaneous elections, but it is not necessary that dates will be advanced for that," he said in an exclusive interview to Network 18 Editor in Chief Rahul Joshi. The full interview will be telecast on Monday.

Jaitley also rejected the possibility that the Assembly elections in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, due at the end of 2018, could instead be postponed and held along with the general elections. He said such a move would need changes to the Constitution.

"Till the time Constitution is changed, and there is consensus on the issues, the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections will not overlap," he said.

"And going by the reaction the issue evoked, it seems people (opposition) are not in favour of any such move," the Finance Minister added.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by the BJP completes its full five year term in May 2019.

Modi has made no secret of his desire to have simultaneous state and central elections on grounds a continuous electoral cycle disrupted governance.

He repeated his call earlier this week too. At the beginning of the current session of parliament, he urged parties to rise above political lines to explore the idea.

Before him, President Ram Nath Kovind, in his address to the joint session of parliament at the beginning of the budget session, also stressed on the need to have simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.

The response thus far from the main opposition party- the Congress – thus far has been tepid. Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram called the idea "another jumla".

"In a parliamentary democracy, especially when we have 30 states, under the present Constitution you cannot have simultaneous election," Chidambaram said at a book release function earlier this week.