After exit poll thrill, Ananth Kumar bats for simultaneous assembly, Lok Sabha elections

Counting of votes for both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections will take place on December 18.

NEW DELHI: After the exit polls gave an emphatic victory for the BJP in Gujarat and Himachal elections on Thursday, Union minister and senior party leader Ananth Kumar said there should be simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls.

The Union minister of parliamentary affairs said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has favoured holding simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and assemblies.

The Centre had earlier asked the Election Commission what it would require for becoming capable of holding the parliamentary and assembly polls together. In its reply, the Commission had said it would be "logistically equipped" by September 2018 to hold simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and assemblies.

PM said that simultaneous elections to the Parliament and state assemblies should happen: Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar pic.twitter.com/OchgLCVAZL — ANI (@ANI) December 14, 2017

The government has proposed to hold simultaneous elections in the country as it would not just save time but also crucial financial resources.

The reaction comes after the exit polls on Thursday predicted a BJP victory in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections.

Various exit polls gave a clean sweep for the BJP in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections. The exit polls of VMR, C-voter, News X, India TV and CSDS have forecast BJP to win in the elections.

The polling for the second and final phase of Gujarat elections ended on Thursday. Himachal had voted on November 9. Counting of votes for both the states will take place on December 18.

Gujarat assembly elections were held in two phases on December 9 and 14.

The first phase was held in 89 constituencies spread across 19 districts while in the second phase, the polling was held in 93 constituencies across 14 districts.

The Election Commission said, a total of 66.75% voter turnout was recorded in the first phase and in the second phase, about 69% recorded till 5 pm.

Both Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress have campaigned hard in high-stakes elections with both sides fielding their top leaders for the polling.