Sharad Yadav opposes Advani's call for compulsory voting

Janata Dal-United (JD-U) national president Sharad Yadav said he was against alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani's view that the constitution be amended to fix the term for legislatures and that voting be made compulsory.

Janata Dal-United (JD-U) national president Sharad Yadav on Friday said he was against alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani's view that the constitution be amended to fix the term for legislatures and that voting be made compulsory.

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"We are against fixing the term for legislatures and make voting compulsory. It is against democratic rights and values," Sharad Yadav, the convenor of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), told reporters.

Reacting to Advani's statement, Sharad Yadav said: "How can people be forced to vote? Poor people who were struggling to earn a livelihood far from their native places would be hit hard if voting was made compulsory."

However, he ruled out any chance of the JD-U severing its ties with the NDA and joining any other alliance.

"The JD-U is with the NDA and would continue to be part of it," said Sharad Yadav.

Advani had said in Ahmedabad on Thursday that the constitution must be amended to have a fixed term of five years for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

"We must amend the constitution and have a fixed term of five years for the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha (state legislative assembly). We follow the British pattern where legislatures can be dissolved even before they complete their term. This doesn't suit us and we need to change it," the BJP leader had said.

He had also suggested that political parties and the Election Commission should think over whether "we can make voting compulsory".