No Mandate to Hold Simultaneous Polls: CEC Chawla

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Navin Chawla has said the Election Commission (EC) had no jurisdiction over holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies, he was interacting with the media after inaugurating a photo exhibition marking the diamond jubilee of the EC in Shimla on Sunday.

‘Only parliament is competent to make a law to provide for simultaneous polls but in my personal opinion it is not feasible under present circumstances,’ he said, adding that the move was not possible in his opinion.

Ruling out possibilities of the election process reverting to ballot paper, Chawla said the electronic voter machines (EVMs) were functioning normally and complaints and aspersions cast over them were found to be baseless.

(Based on Internet Reports)