India proposes holding simultaneous mega polls

NEW DELHI: India’s ruling party on Tuesday tabled a parliamentary bill to synchronise state and national elections, a proposal that would vastly extend what is already the world’s largest democratic exercise.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) say the concurrent polls proposed by the “One Nation, One Election” bill would cut costs, but opposition parties condemned the move as bid to bolster power.

Phased voting in general elections for the national parliament this year ...