No summer elections: Nitish Kumar has a suggestion for EC
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was among the early voters who cast their ballot on Sunday, the last phase of 2019 Lok Sabha polls. After getting inked in Patna, the JD(U) leader said there shouldn't be a huge gap between two phases, especially when it's hot. He suggested elections should be wrapped up quickly and shouldn't be held in the summer season. Here's more.
Elections shouldn't be long-drawn, said Kumar
The ongoing general elections started on April 11 and results will be declared on May 23. The polls were held in seven phases and Kumar opined this isn't a good idea. "Elections should not be held over such a long duration. There was a long gap between each phase of voting," he said. He suggested that fewer phases will lead to larger turnout.
Polls should ideally be held in one phase: Kumar
Kumar told reporters that polls should be held in February-March or October-November in two to three phases. "Ideally, elections should be held in one phase across the country but since the country is so big, it should be held in two or three phases keeping in mind the hilly areas of northeast states and Jammu and Kashmir," he went on.
Kumar said he will speak to political rivals after elections
"After the elections are over, I, as a president of my party, will write letters to the presidents of all political parties for discussion on the issue (timing for holding elections) despite the fact that we have so many differences over many issues," Kumar added.
Kumar also called Pragya Thakur's Godse statements 'intolerable'
Apart from this, Kumar also gave his opinion on Pragya Singh Thakur's remark on Mahatma Gandhi's murderer Nathuram Godse. Pragya, BJP's candidate from Bhopal, called Godse a patriot, earlier this week. Condemning her, Kumar said, "Bharatiya Janata Party should think about such comments. What action the party takes is their internal matter. We should not tolerate such a statement."
Through Pragya, Kumar could be sending message to BJP
Kumar's statement, just before the results of the highly-anticipated polls, can be seen as a message for ally BJP. Notably, JD(U) and BJP are contesting in an equal number of seats this time. Out of 40 Lok Sabha seats, JD(U) and BJP fielded candidates from 17 constituencies. Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP fielded candidates from the remaining six seats.
