ITANAGAR, March 7 � In an unprecedented development, the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly was dissolved on Thursday night by Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Nirbhay Sharma on the recommendation of the State Cabinet which demanded holding of the State Assembly polls along with the general elections next month.
As per the election schedule announced by the Election Commission of India, Arunachal Pradesh goes to Lok Sabha polls on April 9 next to elect members to its two parliamentary seats.
The State Cabinet with Chief Minister Nabam Tuki in the chair recommended the dissolution of the Assembly to the Governor, who okayed the proposal. The Cabinet also demanded holding of the State Assembly elections along with the Lok Sabha polls, informed sources said.
The Cabinet favours simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha polls on April 9 with a view to minimise election expenditure, which comes to roughly Rs 70 crore, according to Chief Secretary Ramesh Negi.
The decision to dissolve the House came few hours after the conclusion of the three-day Budget Session of the Assembly. However, the exact reason of the Assembly dissolution is not known yet.
The 60-member State Assembly � which has 55 Congress members, three BJP, one PPA (People�s Party of Arunachal) and an Independent � was to go to the polls due in October next.
Meanwhile, an official release issued by Chief Secretary Ramesh Negi this evening said that in the Cabinet meeting held on March 6 the Council of Ministers unanimously recommended to the Governor for dissolution of the Assembly �on the ground of financial prudence and on the fact that holding two elections in the same year would involve huge financial burden on the State�. The Cabinet also took note of the fact that it would halt developmental process for almost six months due to the Model Code of Conduct.
�The Council of Ministers called on the Governor, who accepted the recommendation of the Council of Ministers and dissolved the Assembly by issuing a notification under Article 174(2)(b) of the Constitution of India.
�A formal request has been sent to the Election Commission of India for holding simultaneous elections to the Legislative Assembly along with the Parliamentary Elections.
Meanwhile, the Arunachal Pradesh BJP has refused to buy the Arunachal Government�s idea of holding simultaneous elections to State Assembly and Lok Sabha.
The party has, in this regard, sent a petition to the Chief Election Commissioner, New Delhi opposing the State Government recommendation for simultaneous polls.
