Agencies

NEW DELHI: In yet another move that would ultimately fit in perfectly with the grand plan for simultaneous elections, the government and its various arms are making a pitch for a common electoral roll for all elections right from panchayat level to Lok Sabha While the Parliamentary Standing Committee has in its recent report advocated the idea strongly, the latest pitch has come from the Law Commission of India which raised the issue with the Election Commission in a meeting held on Wednesday.ET has learnt that there has also been a nudge from the PMO on the subject.In the meeting called to discuss concerns around the issue of simultaneous polls, the Law Commission sought to know from the EC why a single and common electoral roll could not be created for elections to local bodies, state assemblies and the Lok Sabha.That the idea has the blessings of the BJP is clear.With the PM himself often underlining the need for simultaneous polls, several BJP state governments have taken a cue.Both Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have formed special committees to study issues related to simultaneous polls.The UP government committee is specifically looking at possibilities of creating a common electoral roll.The EC, ET has learnt, has explained that there are technical roadblocks to a common electoral roll. While EC conducts elections to Parliament and state legislatures and is responsible for all preparations for the same including for an electoral roll, states do the same for Panchayati Raj Institutions and municipal bodies and state election commission draw up the electoral rolls for the same. While some states do rely on EC’s roll, others do it de novo.The key issue is that as far as EC’s purview is concerned the delimitation of constituencies is frozen until 2031. However, there is no such bar on states as far as determining the boundaries of wards for local bodies election is concerned. Most states, in fact, frequently change size of these wards, often based on political or social concerns.To enable a common electoral roll, all states will have to amend respective laws to freeze constituency boundaries to synch to a uniform calendar, EC informed the Law Commission. There are also logistical issues which EC has flagged off to the Parliamentary Standing Committee. EC told the committee that it would be difficult to conduct such a massive exercise for over 78 crore electors as there is no uniform system for preparation of rolls by state electoral commissions and it would not be possible for the ECI to collect the data of Panchayat, municipal body and ward numbers and feed it into a common database.Over Rs 500 crore may be required for this project—Rs 300 crore has been proposed to be allocated for the same, the committee records in its report submitted to the Parliament in the Budget session this year.The Parliamentary panel has observed in its report that preparation of electoral roll by ECI and state commissions involves some amount of duplication of efforts as the voter is the same for election to different bodies.“It is understood that common electoral roll would save time, money and manpower of the nation besides removing inconsistencies between two sets of electoral roll and resultant confusion in the mind of the voter. It also limits the scope of electoral malpractices”, the Committee has observed recommending that the Law ministry bring out an amendment in existing legislations to evolve a common electoral roll.