Prime Minister Narendra Modi Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the proposal for ‘one nation, one election’, which aims to synchronise the elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies to a single schedule. According to sources, the ‘one nation, one election’ Bill is likely to be introduced in the upcoming winter session of Parliament.
The development came after a high-level panel headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind submitted its report before the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day address last month advocated for ‘one nation, one election,’ arguing that frequent elections create impediments to the country’s progress.
What Is ‘One Nation, One Election’ & How It Can Work
The idea of ‘one nation, one election’ refers to holding simultaneous elections across the country, which means, that the polls for Lok Sabha and state assemblies will be held together.
The idea of ‘one nation, one election’ was first proposed in the 1980s. The Justice BP Jeevan Reddy-headed Law Commission said in its 170th Report in May 1999 that “we must go back to the situation where the elections to Lok Sabha and all the Legislative Assemblies are held at once”.
The elections for the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies were held simultaneously in 1951-52, 1957, 1962 and 1967. However, the cycle of state assemblies was disrupted due to the premature dissolution of assemblies. The Lok Sabha was also dissolved early in 1970.
Opposition Opposes ‘One Nation, One Election’, BJP Hits Back
Many opposition parties including the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and Shiv Sena (UBT) opposed it ‘one nation, one election’, alleging that the BJP was proposing simultaneous elections to replace the parliamentary form of government with a presidential system.
Attacking the central government over the acceptance of the proposal, TMC MP Derek O’Brien said, “One nation, one election is just another cheap stunt from the anti-democratic BJP.”
Meanwhile, the BJP’s pitch for ‘one nation, one election’, was led by the Prime Minister Modi himself. In fact, the saffron party also promised simultaneous polls in its manifesto for the general elections.
