Tamil Nadu
Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) today (1 September) announced that his party supports the idea of 'One-Nation, One- Election', i.e., simultaneous polls at the Centre and state levels.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Palaniswami wrote that the move would save costs, avoid political instability, increase voter turnout and escalate the speed of the country's development.
He added that his party hoped that the committee formed to study the idea under former president Ram Nath Kovind will quickly recommend One-Nation-One-Election.
The next Assembly election in Tamil Nadu will be in 2026, i.e., two years after the Lok Sabha polls.
The idea of simultaneous elections has been opposed by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
The party's opposition to the idea also found mention in the full text of Chief Minister MK Stalin's speech at the meeting of I.N.D.I.A alliance parties in Mumbai today.
While it is a constituent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the AIADMK has has differences with the BJP on issues like the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and NEET.