His suggestion of synchronised Lok Sabha and state assembly elections having triggered a national debate, Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani on Tuesday said a final decision on the issue will be taken only after wider consultations within the Bharatiya Janata Party, the government, the ruling National Democratic Alliance and other political parties.
Chairing a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Party in the absence of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Advani said the suggestion, initially made by Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, will be discussed extensively at different levels within the government and outside.
Advani had said on Saturday that five years in the government "have made us intensely conscious of the fact that the ruling party remaining in a continuous election mode was a serious handicap for good governance."
Advani's suggestion has met with mixed response.