A political row has sparked ever since the Central government constituted a committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to explore the possibility of ‘One Nation, One Election’. Notably, this development has come a day after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi on Thursday called a special five-day session of Parliament starting on September 18 to September 22. Opposition leaders have called for a gimmick before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Apart from Kovind, the committee comprises Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Ahir Ranjan Chowdhury, former Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Finance Commission Chairman NK Singh, former Lok Sabha Secretary General Subhash C Kashyap, Senior Advocate Harish Salve and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari.
Simultaneous elections for the state assemblies and the Lok Sabha were held till 1967. However, in 1968 and 1969 some legislative assemblies were dissolved prematurely followed by the dissolution of the Lok Sabha in 1970. This forced a change in electoral schedules for the states and the country.
Here are One nation, one election- Pros and cons:
Those in favour say–
– Polling is expensive but organising state assembly and Lok Sabha elections simultaneously may reduce that cost.
-Besides, simultaneous elections may save time and the government can get five stable years to focus on governance instead of winning polls.
-To ensure that a state government does not fall without an alternative, the Law Commission recommended that a no-confidence motion against a government should be followed by a confidence motion so that if the Opposition doesn’t have the numbers to form an alternative government, the regime in office cannot be removed.
Those against it say:
-Electronic voting machines (EVMs) which have a life span of 15 years, would only be used three times under the One Nation One Election proposal.
-To implement the new election rules, five articles in the Constitution and Representation of the People Act (1951) would have to be amended. Every recognised state and national party would have to agree to the change.
– No proposal made a provision for hung legislatures or the premature dissolution of governments.
-If the Centre will continue to have the power to dismiss the state government (under Article 356), there cannot be the One Nation One Poll rule eligible.
-Voters may end up voting on national issues even for state polls which would benefit larger national parties and marginalise regional parties.
-Under this rule, a wave of one person or one issue may give unbridled power to rule.
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Updated: 03 Sep 2023, 11:02 AM IST