New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Wednesday resume his efforts to build consensus on the idea of 'One Nation, One Election', a theme which first found mention in the BJP’s 2014 manifesto and was later voiced by both Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.
In the agenda for the all-party meet on Wednesday evening are also discussions on celebrating 75 years of India's Independence in 2022 and 150 years of Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary this year.
As happened in Modi's last term, the idea has run into opposition even before the issue is put up formally for discussion before political parties. The Congress-led UPA, Trinamool Congress and Left parties have already expressed their opposition to the idea.
After the UPA’s meeting chaired by Sonia Gandhi, Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, Congress' leader in Lok Sabha, said the parties were opposed to the idea in principle.
The meeting was attended by leaders like Rahul Gandhi, TR Baalu and Kanimozhi of the DMK, Supriya Sule of the NCP and Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference.
Trinamool Congress president and West Bengal Mamata Banerjee has already turned down the invitation. In the letter, in which she excused herself, she said, "Instead of doing the matter hurriedly, I would like to request you to kindly circulate a white paper on the subject to all political parties inviting their views by providing adequate time."
S Ramachandran Pillai of the CPI(M) has termed the idea ‘impractical’ and ‘a means to subvert people's mandate’. CPI leader D Raja said the suggestion was ‘merely an extension of the syndrome the BJP wants to impose of one nation-one culture-one nation-one language.’ AAP leaders have also joined the chorus of opposition to the idea.
'One nation, One Election' or simultaneous polls is an idea that has run into rough weather ever since it was mooted in the Modi government's previous term. Among its critics have been former election commissioners. On Tuesday TS Krishnamurthy, who oversaw the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, said that a lot of administrative arrangements, including increasing the strength of paramilitary forces for poll duties, might be required for simultaneous polls. Krishnamurthy added the idea had several advantages, but it would not be possible without the necessary constitutional amendments.
Former Chief Election Commissioner, OP Rawat, in August 2018 had also talked about the need to make constitutional amendments to implement the idea. But when asked if it was likely to be implemented in near future, he had said, "Koi chance nahi [no chance at all]."
But the idea has had its supporters too.
In the same month when the then CEC summarily rejected the idea, BJP president Amit Shah wrote to the Law Commission of India in support of simultaneous polls. He argued that the country was perpetually in election mode, resulting in a lack of adequate focus on governance. His second argument was that scattered polling led to extra expenditure.
The Law Commission subsequently came out with a draft report in support of the idea, though it kept Jammu and Kashmir out of the purview. In its report, the commission stated that holding simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies is a solution to prevent the country from being in constant election mode. It agreed with the argument that holding simultaneous elections will help save public money, reduce the burden on administration and also ensure better implementation of government policies. It recommended "certain inevitable constitutional amendments".
In December 2015, the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice had submitted its report on the feasibility of 'Holding Simultaneous Elections to House of People (Lok Sabha) and State Legislative Assemblies'.
It had recommended that in order to hold early elections to the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies, one of two conditions must be met:
First, a 'motion for an early general election must be agreed to by at least two-thirds of all members of the House.' Secondly, 'a no-confidence motion must be passed by the House, and with no alternative government being confirmed within 14 days of passing a confidence motion.'
The idea of holding simultaneous polls is not new. India's first four elections, beginning in the year of 1952 to 1970, i.e. 1952, 1957, 1962 and 1967, were actually 'One Nation, One Election' before the fourth Lok Sabha had to be dissolved prematurely.
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