Ahead of the introduction of Bills on holding simultaneous polls, the government on Tuesday said the concept is not new to the country. Following the adoption of the Constitution, elections to the Lok Sabha and all State Assemblies were conducted simultaneously from 1951 to 1967, it noted.
The government said the first general elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies were held together in 1951-52, a practice that continued for three subsequent general elections in 1957, 1962, and 1967. “However, this cycle of synchronised elections was disrupted in 1968 and 1969 due to the premature dissolution of some State Legislative Assemblies,” an official explainer said.