Despite the opposition from various political parties and civil society organisations, the Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the proposal for ‘one nation, one election’ recommended by the high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind. As per the committee report submitted last week, there would be simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, followed by synchronised polls for the local bodies within 100 days. The panel also proposed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to prepare a common electoral roll and voter ID cards, as well as to set up an ‘Implementation Group’ for the execution of its recommendations. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is eager to implement the scheme and would push to make it a reality by the next general elections. This is understandable, as the party had promised to implement the same in this year’s election manifesto. To pave the way for execution of its ambitious scheme, the BJP may introduce the panel-recommended bills in Parliament to amend the Constitution during the upcoming winter session. However, it will be a herculean task for the Modi government to get a two-thirds majority, which is needed to amend the Constitution. Unlike the previous two terms, the saffron party doesn’t have a majority in the Lok Sabha. It also runs short of the required numbers in the Rajya Sabha to get the bills passed. With more than a dozen political parties, primarily those from the opposition INDIA bloc, opposing the proposed simultaneous polls, the BJP will heavily rely on its allies and other friendly parties to pass the bills. This won’t be easy.
The concept of holding simultaneous polls is not new to India, having implemented it at least four times in the past. However, it was discontinued due to premature dissolution of the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies during those terms. In the event of an early dissolution, the high-level committee recommended holding midterm elections and ending the tenure five years from the “appointed date” in order to synchronise Lok Sabha and state assembly polls. However, it defeats the very objectives of conducting simultaneous polls across the country, that is, to cut electoral expenses and to mitigate disruption to governance. It is also against the federal system of government, where various tiers, from national level to state to local, have unique places for the citizens. So, holding simultaneous polls has the potential to undermine and impact the outcome of elections, especially the lower tiers — the assembly and municipal. Such an exercise is also likely to dwarf issues specific to regions and states, especially smaller states like in the northeast that receive negligible attention even under the current electoral system. The fear of local issues going unheard and their possible impact on regional parties is real. There are more reasons than one for those advocating federalism to oppose ‘one nation, one election’.
