In an All-Party meet held on June 19, the Modi led NDA government made another push for simultaneous elections. With it the polarising ‘One Nation, One Election’ debate is once again making the news.
The government had first proposed the change in its 2014 manifesto.
It read: “The BJP will seek, through the consultation with other parties, to evolve a method of holding Assembly and Lok Sabha elections simultaneously. Apart from reducing election expenses for both political parties and Government, this will ensure certain stability for State Governments.”
Amidst ongoing debates, The Logical Indian breaks down the nitty-gritty of “one nation, one election”.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons What Is “One Nation, One Election”?
The term “One nation, One election” is the colloquial reference to simultaneous elections.
In simple terms, simultaneous elections mean that the voting for the Parliament, the State Assemblies, and the Local Bodies will take place together.
It means that a voter will cast her vote for electing members to all three tiers of the government on the same day.
In India, the State Election Commission (SEC) holds the local body elections. The Central Election Commission (CEC) holds the voting for the Parliament and the State Assemblies.
Due to this, the “One nation, One election” proposal leaves out the local body elections. So, in this case, simultaneous polls refer to voting for the candidates of the Parliament and the State Assemblies on the same day.
India Once Had Simultaneous Elections
The idea of simultaneous elections is not new to India. The general elections to the Parliament and the State Assemblies were held together for the first twenty years post independence.
So, the Election Commission (EC) held simultaneous elections during the years 1951-52, 1957, 1962, and 1967.
However, the dissolution of some state assemblies in 1968-69, the dissolution of the Parliament in 1970, and the general elections in 1971 disrupted the cycle.
Since then the Commission did not conduct simultaneous elections on any other occasion.
Why The Push Now?
In an interview with The Logical Indian, the former Chief Election Commissioner of India, Mr.N. Gopalaswami said: “It is something which I consider worthwhile.”
“If there is a consensus from everyone and a single election is implemented, then it will lead to a lot of good outcomes. Especially on logistical and financial terms. More importantly, we won’t constantly be in election mode.”
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
According to a paper by Niti Aayog, there has not been a single year – in the past 30 years – when the EC did not hold an election, either state or central.
In an exclusive interview with Swarajya Magazine, PM Modi reiterated his position on simultaneous elections.
Modi said, “It is also my view that the electioneering cycle in the current form weakens the federal structure. This is because the campaign trail that precedes an election often takes an aggressive nature and the parties at the Centre and the states are pitted against each other.”
“By devoting a specific time for electioneering, the subsequent post-election period becomes one of undivided attention to governance and development for all elected governments across the nation.”
“Thus, holding Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls together will involve lesser waste of resources and enable a healthy culture of working together in the spirit of cooperative federalism for the common pursuit of India’s progress.”
The Advantages
Talking about the advantages of having a single election, former Chief Election Commissioner Mr.T.S. Krishnamurthy told The Logical Indian, “There won’t be such wastage of money, of paramilitary forces, and so many difficulties in conducting the elections. If you can amend the constitution and provide for a fixed legislature term for the houses, then a single election would be good for the country.”
“In every parliamentary election and assembly election, there is so much hatred and violence. All that hatred and violence can be confined to only one election.”
Image Credit: Times Of India
In 2018, the Department of Legal Affairs directed the Law Commission to study the issue of simultaneous elections and submit a report.
The report highlighted the primary benefits of a single election: “From financial considerations, implementing simultaneous elections seem to be not only feasible but also desirable. It will result in a reduction of enormous costs involved in separate elections.”
Image Credit: NITI Aayog Paper
“Engagement of polling staff and security personnel for significantly prolonged periods during elections is a mammoth, complex, and time-consuming activity. It leads to disruptions in the duties of public servants frequently. This makes the holding of simultaneous elections more desirable,” the report said.
Further, “if the elections are going to…
