The government has constituted a committee headed by former President of India Ram Nath Kovind in order to explore the possibility of ‘One Nation, One Election’. The report of the committee has come a day Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the government has convened a special session of Parliament for five days between 18-22 September 2023.
In the announcement, there was no official word on the agenda behind the special session which will be held days after the G20 Summit. "Amid Amrit Kaal looking forward to having fruitful discussions and debate in Parliament," Pralhad Joshi said on X (formerly Twitter.
The concept of "One Nation, One Election" in India aims to synchronise elections for the Lok Sabha (the lower house of India's Parliament) and all state assemblies. The idea is to hold these elections simultaneously, either on a single day or within a specific time frame. Over the years, PM Modi has pushed strongly for the idea of simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly polls, and the decision to task Kovind to look into it underscores the government's seriousness as a host of elections approach. The assembly polls in five states are due this year in November or December which will be be followed by the Lok Sabha elections which is likely to be held in May-June 2024.
The primary benefits of ‘One Nation, One election’ is the reduction in the cost of conducting elections as each separate elections require huge amount of financial resources.
With having simultaneous elections would ease the burden on administrative and security forces, who otherwise are engaged multiple times in election duties.
As per reports, With implementation of 'One Nation, One Election', the government can focus more on governance rather than being in a election mode, which often hampers policy implementation.
Simultaneous elections, according to the Law Commission, will increase voter turnout because it will be more easy for people to cast many ballots at once.
To implement One Nation, One Election', changes would also be required in the Constitution and other legal frameworks. One Nation One Election would need a constitutional amendment and then it would need to be taken to state assemblies. It is not a new concept having taken place four times in the 1950’s and 60's but India has fewer states and a smaller population that could vote.
Additionally, there is worry that regional issues might get overshadowed by the national issues, affecting the electoral outcome at the state level.
The agreement among all political parties is a significant hurdle as well as opposition parties have opposed to ‘One Nation One Election'.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut called the move a conspiracy to postpone polls in the country.
"It is clear that the BJP is scared. They see that they will lose three state elections. The INDIA alliance has created a challenge. Hence, the 'One India, One Election' bill,” Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh said.
Former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath said for this move not just an amendment in the Constitution but also approval of states is also needed. In BJP-ruled states like Haryana and Maharashtra, they can decide and pass a proposal in the Cabinet to dissolve their respective assemblies.
I hope you found my blog post on 'One Nation One Election' insightful. Stay connected for more informative posts.
Written By,
Freelance Content/Technical,
Writer- Ivan Edwin"MAXIMUS".
