Hold Lok Sabha and UP elections simultaneously before implementing 'One Nation, One Election': Akhilesh

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said before implementing 'One Nation, One Election' in the country, the BJP government should carry out an experiment by holding the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls this time.

The Centre on Friday constituted a committee led by former president Ram Nath Kovind to explore the feasibility of simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly elections. In a post in Hindi on 'X', Yadav wrote, "An experiment is done before doing any big work… we are suggesting that before implementing 'One Nation, One Election', the BJP government should hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, which has the highest number of Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha seats, this time."

The last assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh were held in 2022 and the next elections are scheduled in 2027. Yadav went on to suggest that the public was angry with the BJP and will ensure its defeat. "This will reveal the Election Commission's capability and the public opinion, and the BJP will also get to know how eager the people are to remove it from power," he added. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also supported the 'One Nation, One Election' model. Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha and 403 assembly seats. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 62 seats while the SP could only win five. In the assembly election held last year, the BJP won 255 seats while the SP secured victory on 111 seats