With Rajasthan and Delhi being ruled by the BJP and Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram having Congress governments, both parties could become tyagmurthis (renunciation of power) by voluntarily sacrificing their governments for a six-week period in the run up to the elections, Gill said in a wide-ranging interview to PTI.

``Article 356 of the Constitution should be amended by Parliament to provide for an elected state government to move out of office once the elections are announced so that the state could be placed under Governor's rule,'' he said.

Since such a measure would take some time, the four states should set an example with the Chief Ministers relinquishing office on their own, he said.

The CEC said he was suggesting this in response to apprehensions being voiced by Opposition parties in those states over possibility of conducting impartial polls under a state administration, including police, being run by the party in power.

Gill said the commission had already begun preparation for holding the Assembly elections in the four states where the five-year tenure of the governments will come to an end in December.

Stating that the commission does not approve of a total ban on donation by companies to political parties, Gill said the political process after all involved heavy costs and these had to be met by funds coming through certain channels.

``Efforts should be made to create an atmosphere where there is more transparency in financial dealings rather than take extreme measures which would only drive these activities underground and away from public gaze,'' he said.

On the ceiling on expenditure limit for candidates, the CEC said it was a routine mechanical exercise best left to the commission instead of the government.

He said the commission, while fixing the limit, would take into account factors like inflation and modify the ceiling accordingly.

``The role of money power definitely disturbs the level playing field in the election process between contesting candidates and contesting political parties. There is a great need to ensure that the role of money power in elections and election arena is curbed significantly if not totally eradicated,'' he said, adding he had repeatedly written to the government at the highest level for enacting electoral reforms at the earliest.

Gill denied there was a tussle on between the government and the commission over the issue of more powers sought by the latter.

``Our objectives are the same and the government and the commission in no way stand apart. The commission has frequent dialogue with the Prime Minister and that does not diminish our independence,'' he said, maintaining that the independence of the three-member commission was clearly visible from the decisions it took.

Asked about the inordinate delay in disposal of election petitions, several of which have been pending in the High Courts and the Supreme Court since 1990, Gill suggested that courts set up special benches to dispose of such petitions within six months of filing.

``Otherwise the entire spirit behind election petitions would be defeated with an individual lasting out his full term as a parliamentarian or a member of a legislative assembly while the final court decision might well declare his guilty of serious electoral malpractices,'' he said noting such a legislator if found guilty had no right to be a law maker.

He said while the full term of an MP or an MLA was five years, he could be debarred from contesting polls for six years by a court.

In this regard, he said a total of 339 election petitions were pending in the High Courts since 1990 while the Supreme Court figure was 41.

He said he had written to Law Minister M Thambidurai to address the matter and find a way for prompt disposal of such cases.