Introduction
The proposition for synchronising local bodies (LBs) (panchayats and municipalities) elections with the general elections (as propounded by the 2024 report of the High-Level Committee on Simultaneous Elections; HLC) appears injudicious and infeasible. Conceptually problematic is the attempt to strive for uniformity among disparate entities and heterogeneous structures. Considering the colossal scale millions of posts, contestants and a subcontinental canvas twenty-eight states and eight Union Territories (UTs) disparate election procedures and diverse roles of the State Election Commissions (SECs), the attuning scheme is to encounter almost insurmountable hurdles at the operational front. Rather than the emphasis on the election schedule per se, the concerted focus should revert to the purposive invigoration of the otherwise deficient and aberrant course of the local bodies. more...