New Delhi: With his suggestion triggering off a debate among political parties, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani on August 5 said a final decision on the issue of synchronising Lok Sabha and Assembly elections would be taken only after wider consultations within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and different political parties.

Chairing the meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Party in the absence of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Advani said the suggestion, initially made by Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, would be discussed extensively within the party, the government, NDA allies and Opposition parties before any decision is taken, party spokesman V K Malhotra told reporters.

Advani had on August 2 raised the issue, saying such a proposal if implemented would not only reduce poll expenditure, but would also help governments to take crucial policy decisions without bothering about poll prospects.

Besides holding informal talks with a major NDA ally, the party has also informally sounded members of the Election Commission on the issue, he had said.

Advani said despite multiplicity of parties, "if BJP and Congress agree on major approaches it will be easy to implement".

The suggestion has met with mixed response with election experts expressing scepticism over the proposal.

PTI