Omkar Dattatray
Simultaneous polls which can be appropriately termed as one nation ,one election has once again came to centre stage because it has finally got a nod from the union cabinet recently amid the election nautanki in J&K and Haryana as the central government affixed its seal of approval to the former president Kovind committee’s 320 pages report recommendations regarding ‘One Nation ,One Election {ONOE} setting the ball rolling for an ambitious gargantuan venture .The Kovind report was supported by 32 political parties and opposed by only 15 parties .The Modi government is all set to introduce the draft of the bill regarding one nation ,one election in the current winter session of the parliament .Former president Ram Nath Kovind has submitted the report of one nation ,one election to the president in March 2024 .One nation ,one election is the brain child of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in present time, has become a subject of intense debate among the political circles in the country .It is heartening that the union cabinet has approved the bill of one election ,one nation and thus paved the way for having simultaneous polls of Lok sabha and state legislatures. .India greatly needs simultaneous elections to parliament ,state legislatures & local bodies. Questionably are we moving towards ONOE ?Up to this time nation had witnessed 400 polls to Lok Sabha and state assemblies .The Law Commission has thrice that is in 1999,2015 &2018 argued for simultaneous polls to free the nation from the trouble of recurrent polls .The pertinent question is will the ONOE be advisable and in the interest of the nation?.PM Modi thinks it so and thus he had mooted the idea of One Nation ,One Election way back in the year 2016 & is repeatedly been mooting the same .One nation, one election is a boon and not a bane for the country .Simultaneous polls are very much in the interest of the country .Its merits far exceed its demerits if any .The greatest and overriding advantage of one nation ,one election is national integration ,national unity and nationalism and patriotism which directly flow from it. Another main advantage which will accrue from the simultaneous polls is economy as it is most cost effective exercise as compared to current system of frequent polls which requires very huge amount of money ,cost and is time consuming and energy consuming .But then one is at a loss to understand why the opposition parties are opposing the proposition of one nation, one election .Is it because the opposition is playing in the hands of anti national elements and thus does not like national integration flowing from one nation ,one election .However ,it is encouraging and a welcome development that some of the opposition parties are realizing the need and benefits of simultaneous polls and are turning in favor of one nation ,one election, BSP is a case in point which is now favoring it .It is hoped that better sense will prevail on the opposition parties and in the days to come they will also rally behind simultaneous polls .It is in the fitness of things to through light on the pros and cones of one nation ,one election so that a case for its need becomes crystal clear .The concept of One Nation ,One Election in India aims to synchronize elections for Lok Sabha 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 polls. The primary benefits of ‘One Nation ,One Election ‘is the reduction in the cost of conducting elections in a recurrent manner as each separate election requires huge amount of financial resources which is a big burden on government exchequer .With having simultaneous elections would ease the burden on administrative and security forces ,who otherwise are engaged multiple times in election duties .With implementation of ‘One Nation ,One Election ,the government can focus more on governance rather than being in election mode ,which often hampers policy implementation. Simultaneous polls as per the Law Commission ,will increase voter turnout because it will be more easy for the people to cast many ballots at a time. To implement One Nation ,One Election ,changes would also be required in the constitution and other legal frameworks.Modi government is mulling to bring three bills in parliament and the two bills are regarding One Nation ,One Election. .One Nation ,One Election, would need a constitutional amendment and then it would need to be taken to state assemblies .It is not entirely a new concept ,having taken place four times in the 1950’s,and 60’s.Since the past few years it is observed that elections take place frequently in some states of India .So the state machinery and the Election Commission of India engages its resources ,man power ,to conduct assembly elections in those states .Now the NDA government has accepted the recommendations of Kovind committee and it has said that ONOE will be introduced /implemented after arriving at the consensus with the opposition parties .it is to be noted that that Modi is the champion of the principle and practice of consensus for resolving all the issues. India is called the largest democratic country of the world .The general elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies are held at the gap of five years .But it is observed that election is a whole year process in the country .Government spends a lot money ,time and energy on the conduct of different elections .This is the reason that centre government is focusing on the holding of One Nation, One Election. General elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies are held at the gap of 5 years in India. But in addition to this ,elections for the different state Assemblies are held in some states separately which put huge burden on the government exchequer .Now the NDA government is all in favor to go for just one election in the whole country after the gap of five years .”One Nation One Election ”is not a unique experiment in our country .Simultaneous elections have been conducted for the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies simultaneously in India in 1952,1957,1962 and 1967.This practice was discontinued in 1968-69,because some Legislative Assemblies were dissolved earlier due to various reasons .Since then India is trying hard to adopt the old election system but there is no consensus among the political parties on this important issue .The biggest logic in favor of the simultaneous election is the saving of government money .If the country goes for ”One Nation One Election ”it will save huge money .There are 4120 MLA’s in the 31 states and UT’s .The maximum expenditure limit for bigger assemblies is 28 lacs .It means if all the states and UT’s go for one time election then its total cost would be around Rs 11 billion .Usually around 5 states go for polls every year. .Speedy development work will be there if the method is shifted towards the simultaneous elections .It is observed that when the election Model Code of Conduct is in force then the inauguration of new projects does not take place .So one time election will ensure continuity in policies and programmes of the central and state governments .Simultaneous polls will work check on Black money .It is an open secret that elections are fought with black money .A huge black money turned into white money during elections in the country .So if the elections are conducted throughout the year then there is a possibility that parallel economy will grow in the country .Simultaneous polls will result in smooth functioning of the government machinery. One Nation One Election will ensure efficiency of governance in the country. .The big demerit of One Nation One Election is that local issues will fade out .It is observed that elections for state assemblies and Lok Sabha are fought on different issues .Regional parties target local issues while national parties target national issues .So there is a possibility that regional parties will not be able to raise the local issues strongly .In simultaneous polls there is hard time for regional parties. Regional Parties will not be able to compete with national parties in terms of election expenditure and election strategy .Assembly elections are closely associated with local issues and local voters .Hence one time election will not be accepted by the regional parties .There is possibility of delay in election results .One time election seems almost impossible due to democratic set up of the country .Simultaneous polls need huge machinery and resources to conduct the biggest electoral exercise and so it seems not practicable on the ground .Simultaneous polls require constitutional amendments to be made before its implementation .All said and done it is obvious that the merits of One Nation One Election outnumber its limitations and thus the centre government should go ahead with this experiment but not before arriving at a consensus with the opposition parties and regional players.
(The author is a columnist, social and KP activist)
