Simultaneous polls not possible at present: Nitish

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday rejected the idea of holding simultaneous elections in the next few months.

A key NDA ally, Nitish said that in theory it was a good idea to hold simultaneous elections of all the assemblies and the Lok Sabha, but as of now it was not possible as it would require constitutional amendment.

"One nation, one poll is a good idea. But the time is not appropriate to implement it. There are practical difficulties including the mandatory provision of constitutional amendment," said Nitish.

He was responding to a query from the media about his opinion on BJP president Amit Shah's letter to the Law Commission for holding simultaneous poll.

Nitish, who is also the president of the JD(U), had always favoured "one nation, one poll" but added that it was not possible in 2019.

He had argued that simultaneous poll was a good idea as it would save time, money and energy involved in holding elections and would help elected governments to focus its energy on governance and development.

"But this plan could be implemented only in 2024," he had said earlier.