 
The Cabinet led by PM Modi approved “one nation, one election” for simultaneous Lok Sabha and state polls to cut expenses and streamline voting in the world’s largest democracy.
The government aims to agree on the bill before the winter session, without any pressure to introduce “one nation, one poll.”
What is ‘One Nation, One Election’?
This is what the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposes. Thus, if such a proposal were to be adopted, all elections of the country would be conducted simultaneously. It means Lok Sabha and State Assemblies’ members would be elected together. Combining elections, in this way, reduces the kind of repeated election disturbances that accompany a five-year phase. Elections in the country are conducted at different times altogether. This puts in a continuous political environment.
This proposal is not new. The concept was first put into practice in India between 1952 and 1967. However, this practice had to end due to the premature dissolution of some state assemblies. Now, after more than five decades, the government is revisiting the idea.
Advantages of Simultaneous Elections
Most arguments in favor of ‘One Nation, One Election’ are based on the grounds of cost-effectiveness. Election expenditures run into billions of rupees. By joining the elections together, the government can save huge amounts there. Apart from this, often elections cause MCC to be imposed which stops development activities for considerable periods. Simultaneous elections could be fewer in number that way, and would allow the government to focus more on governance.
In addition, concurrent elections would eradicate the administrative burden on election officials. Election officials are currently taking a lot of effort to administer elections due to the deployment of extensive resources that include security personnel and election staff. The process would thus be streamlined in case elections are held concurrently, making it efficient.
Despite the apparent merits, the process of implementing ‘One Nation, One Election’ is riddled with several difficulties. To begin with, the time-keeping of different states and the Lok Sabha needs to be calibrated through an amendment of the Constitution. The reasons are simple: because of the varying terms of state legislative assemblies, elections take place at different times of the year. All these terms will have to be equalized – something impossible without cooperation from all political parties and a constitutional amendment.
The other challenge comes from the federal structure of India’s democratic setup. Most of the regional parties do not support the proposition, since in any case, the simultaneous polls would sideline the importance of these parties. They feel that state-specific issues would take a back seat and national issues would dominate, as they fear to take a chance against the national political entities.
Another main issue is logistics-simultaneous elections in an enormous country like India are extremely challenging. The machinery of holding such elections needs to be perfect in all its arrangements for states and union territories, of which there are 28 states and 8 union territories, and it has to be error-free.
Strategy of the Government to Achieve Consensus
To overcome these difficulties, the government will go very cautious. It will have to make a broad concurrence among all political parties once it gets cabinet approval. The government would consult all kinds of political parties, election commissions, and constitutional experts before placing the bill in parliament.
He has been one of the ardent supporters of the ‘One Nation, One Election’ concept. The prime minister has said that an exercise like this would help enhance governance and its policy implementation capabilities. His government, at the same time, understands the pragmatic reality that all stakeholders need to be brought on board to not see any polarization over this in politics.
Concerns and Criticism of Opposition
All these efforts notwithstanding, most opposition parties have doubts regarding the proposal. They are of the opinion that the practical feasibility of holding simultaneous elections cannot be accomplished in a country like India, where diversity is the core factor. The leaders of the opposition further argue that holding simultaneous elections would weaken the federal structure by concentrating power in the central government.
Criticism: Small regional parties may not get enough attention in synchronized elections. This is because general elections focus more on national issues. Regional issues will, therefore, find a back seat. Furthermore, in staggered elections, voters have the liberty to consider both national and state-level issues at different times and make more informed decisions.
Impact on Voter Behavior: A very major concern expressed by political analysts is that simultaneous elections may influence the voting behavior. In this case, electors would vote for the same party at both national and state levels in the same ballot. This election would therefore result in the phenomena described as “coattail effect,” where smaller parties may be edged out. Larger national parties will probably gain larger sizes of representation in elections while the regional parties acquire fewer sizes of representation.
For this reason, proponents further assert that simultaneous elections can propel more individuals to the polling booths. ‘One Nation, One Election’ could give a pan-Indian feel to the elections as all of them will be held at once, and people would perhaps respond better to such a national effort, thus further fortifying India’s democratic foundation as well.
Conclusion: A Long Way to Go for ‘One Nation, One Election’
Conclusion: The ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal comes with both opportunities and challenges. While it holds promises for easy conduct of elections, cost-cutting, and effective governance, it needs a detailed planning exercise and far-reaching consensus. The government’s decision to canvas views from all parties involved and all stakeholders is welcome. Of course, the actual process in realizing this will be a long-drawn and tortuous affair as the country will deliberate on the implications that it may have on the Indian democratic structure.
One thing will, however, stand out as the debate unfolds – that the idea for simultaneous polls will define India’s electoral landscape for a long time to come. Success of this ambitious move would depend on how the government navigates through the political and constitutional hurdles.
Here is the development: It comes following a high-level panel headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind submitting its report to the Union Cabinet.
It has charged three Union ministers: Rajnath Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal, and Kiren Rijiju, with dialogue with the opposition parties on ONOP.
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