The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has expressed the view that there is no urgency to take forward the ‘One Nation, One Election’ idea.
“It is not a one-stop solution to all the problems,” said Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, Adviser (Public Affairs), while addressing the media at the party office at Tadepalli, near Vijayawada, on Saturday.
Many elections in the past had been conducted in that manner, but the scenario changed thereafter, he said.
“Conducting elections in a big country like India is a costly affair. Hence, there is a need for wider consultations and healthy discussion on the subject,” Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy said.
“I do not think that the jamili (simultaneous) elections will be held before the ensuing general elections,” he added.
“Unlike in the U.S., where the two-party system is in vogue, we have a multi-party system. The regional parties have a vital role. It is also said that the idea of One Nation, One Election is aimed at suppressing the regional parties. The federal system needs to be strengthened but not weakened. The regional parties with national outlook have to coexist in the system,” he added.
Meanwhile, YSRCP Rajya Sabha member V. Vijaya Sai Reddy, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), said, “The concept of One Nation, One Election has many positives. Importantly, it saves thousands of crores of rupees. It is not new. India had simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies in 1951-52, 1957, 1962 & 1967. In A.P., it does not affect us as the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections coincide.”