Shillong, Oct 5: Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma said the merits and demerits of the move to hold simultaneous elections to the state legislatures and Lok Sabha should be properly analysed.

“It will require lots of engagement with all political parties across the country because this kind of exercise, if contemplated, has to be contemplated collectively and a collective endeavour has to be there,” Mukul told reporters on Thursday.

The Election Commission was ready by September 2018 to conduct simultaneous polls by September 2018.
The Commission had also told the Centre that funds would be required for requisite number of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter verifiable paper audit trails (VVPATs) at Rs 3,400 crore and Rs 12,000 crore respectively.

In Meghalaya, the Assembly election will be held early next year, while the Lok Sabha election is due to be held in 2019.

However the move to conduct simultaneous polls materialized, the Assembly election in Meghalaya may be again conducted in 2019 along with the Lok Sabha polls.