Why? In the current scenario, there is one election or the other every 6 months - which is constantly disruptive to say the least.
Perhaps we can have all the state elections together and away from the Lok Sabha elections by a year or two. So two election buckets: Lok Sabha, and the states. If a state government collapses before its time, the new government can only last until the election date - which is fixed.
It will save us a lot of money for starters.
The issue isn't as black and white as it looks in the first glance. Let me explain:
The twin principles of Parliamentary system (which incidentally according to Supreme Court is a part of basic structure of Constitution) are accountability to legislature and 5 year term which are impinged due to simultaneous elections.
1.
Accountablity to legislature dented
The implications of a 'confidence vote' would be that a govt cannot be removed however anti people or under performing it may be, or in spite of being hopelessly in a minority, if the opposition isn't united enough on an alternative to replace the existing ministry. In either case, it will violate the basic features of Parliamentary system.
As the NITI Aayog mentions, If the mechanism of confidence vote fails and Lok Sabha is to be prematurely dissolved, then instead of fresh elections, if the period is short , the president can carry the administration with advise from a council of ministers (which obviously doesn't have the support of the legislature). This would be the most blatant violation of the principle of responsible Govt.
2.
Five Year Term
If the legislature is to be inevitably dissolved with a larger portion of five year term still remaining, then it is suggested that fresh elections are held but the legislature shall not have the full 5 year term; instead it would have a truncated term that remained from the previous legislature's term.
This would jeopardize the constitutional protection that a legislature, once elected, gets a five year term.
3.
Political Autonomy of States
Simultaneous elections also impinge on the political autonomy of the states.
Today any elected state govt can choose to dissolve it's assembly and call for fresh elections . If elections are to be held simultaneously, state will have to give up this power and wait for a national election schedule. There can be legitimate reasons for state govts to dissolve their assemblies and call for fresh elections.
Under a simultaneous election regime, the state will be beholden to the Union Govt for elections to it's state, which goes
against the very grain of political autonomy under our federal structure .
