Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday supported the appeal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to start constructive discussions on holding simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and the state legislatures.

"We have been elected to serve the people. Elections round the year will disrupt the development activities. So, I support the appeal of the Prime Minister to hold simultaneous poll. This will serve the country well," said Naveen.

Incidentally, both the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections are being held simultaneously in the state since 2004. Naveen, who came to power in the state in 2000 in an alliance with the BJP, had preferred to advance the Assembly polls in 2004.

It was held along with the Lok Sabha elections.

State leaders cutting across party affiliations felt that simultaneous elections gave advantage to the Biju Janata Dal.

As central leaders of the Congress and the BJP, two contenders, remain busy campaigning all over the country, Naveen, the star campaigner of his party, finds enough time to make extensive tour of the state.

In fact, the BJD has gone into the election mode since early this year following speculations that the Prime Minister may hold Lok Sabha elections along with the elections to the Assemblies of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, due this year.

In December last year, Naveen had gone on record saying that his party was prepared to face the elections at any time. "We are ready for the polls at any time ," Naveen had said.

The Prime Minister had given a call to start a constructive decision on this subject in his valedictory address during the Law Day celebrations, 2017, organised by the Law Commission in association with NITI Aayog on November 25-26.

In another development, the Law Commission, in its letter to Naveen on June 14, has invited the BJD to have an interaction on July 7 or 8.

"I would request you to kindly participate in the interaction and share your valuable thoughts and suggestions, which could enable us in weighing the pros and cons of the subject," said Law Commission chairperson Justice B.S. Chauhan in his letter.

In April, the department of legal affairs had asked the Law Commission to examine the matter of holding simultaneous polls and submit a report to the government.

The commission, in its meeting held on April 17, decided to publish a public appeal and placed the same on public domain to elicit the views of the stake holders.

"The commission has received many responses to this appeal and we are considering the same. The commission appreciates that the impact of holding simultaneous elections directly bears upon the public of the country and then the political parties," said Justice Chauhan.