New Delhi: A day after the Modi government announced a special session of Parliament to be held between 18 and 22 September, it set up a committee Friday, under the chairmanship of former President Ram Nath Kovind, to work on the ‘One Nation, One Election’ idea which has been repeatedly endorsed by the Prime Minister in the past.
The ‘One Nation, One Election’ theory aims for simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections, to be held on the same day or over a stipulated period.
While the agenda for the September session and whether the government intends to take up the ‘One Nation, One Election’ devate in Parliament then, has not been disclosed yet, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi confirmed the formation of the committee under Kovind.
“A committee has been formed to look into the issue. Why are opposition parties worried, ‘One Nation, One Election’ is not going to happen tomorrow. The committee will talk and give a report which will be debated in Parliament,” Joshi told the media.
Government sources told ThePrint that the committee under Kovind has been tasked with holding deliberations with stakeholders to reach a legal and political consensus on the issue.
Simultaneous elections were the norm in India after Independence till a few premature dissolving of either state assemblies or the Lok Sabha in the late 1950s and 1960s, caused the cycle to break.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its 2014 poll manifesto had committed to “initiate electoral reforms to eliminate criminals [candidates with criminal records]”.
“The BJP will seek through consultation with other parties to evolve a method of holding assembly and Lok Sabha polls simultaneously. Apart from reducing election expenses for both political parties and [the] government, this will ensure continued stability for state governments,” the manifesto had added.
While BJP leaders told ThePrint that the party was looking for a “surprise element” for the coming 2024 elections to counter the Opposition move of putting up a united front to the ruling party with its INDIA alliance, some think the idea of holding simultaneous polls to be impractical.
“Logistically it’s not possible to hold simultaneous elections in the country in the next three-four months,” former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi told ThePrint.
He added: “We have 20 lakh EVM [electronic voting machines] machines. For holding simultaneous polls, we would require three times the number. Security deployment and holding election is not challenge, but preponing Lok Sabha elections to hold it along with the assembly elections to be held in five states later this year looks impossible with the current set of EVM machines.”
Meanwhile, talking about this month’s special Parliament session, one of the BJP’s floor leaders in Parliament, said, “This session will set the tone of ‘Amrit Kaal’, as it will be held soon after the G-20 Summit [to be held in Delhi next week under India’s presidency] and the successful landing of the Chandrayaan 3 mission on Moon [last month]. PM Modi’s diplomatic triumph and India’s pioneering positioning in space technology comes ahead of the assembly elections [scheduled for later this year]. The party is in election mode and the [Parliament] session in the new [Parliament] building will further bolster the image of the government.”
The leader added that the formal agenda for the special session will be disclosed next week.
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‘Trump card to defeat Opposition narrative’
The ‘One Nation, One Election’ idea is not new.
According to news reports, in 1983, the Election Commission had proposed simultaneous elections, but the idea was discarded by the then Congress government.
In 1999 the Law Commission too had reportedly pushed for simultaneous elections.
In 2018, following the BJP’s 2014 poll manifesto commitment on simultaneous elections, the Law Commission reportedly made five Constitutional recommendations for holding simultaneous elections.
In 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also called an all-party meet to discuss the ‘One Nation, One Election’ idea, but many opposition leaders had reportedly skipped the meeting.
In December last year, the Law Commission drew a list of six questions for all stakeholders on the feasibility of the ‘One Nation, One Election’ idea. The Commission’s final report is reportedly awaited.
While a second senior BJP leader told ThePrint that it was not necessary for the BJP to introduce a bill on the subject in the September session of Parliament, sources within the party claimed simultaneous Lok Sabha election with this year’s upcoming assembly polls would help the BJP by giving it the chance to centre the campaign around PM Modi.
“Among the five states where elections are due this year, the BJP is facing a tough competition in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh,” claimed a third BJP leader.
“If elections in these states are held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls, winning these elections will become easier for the party by using Modi’s name. It will give a clear edge to the party,” the leader added.
Senior BJP leaders also told ThePrint that the party was considering a “surprise element” for the 2024 elections, something that would give PM Modi the “big narrative” he had used to win in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Additionally, with the Opposition cobbling together an alliance against the ruling party, the BJP has to ensure that they don’t get a chance to lead the election narrative, added sources.
While the implementation of the ‘One Nation, One Election’ theory may help in this, former Lok Sabha Secretary General P.D.T. Achary claimed the idea was “not feasible”.
“No Opposition [ruled] state will come on board with the BJP idea. Why will Karnataka agree to go to polls again after holding elections just a few months back [Congress defeated the then incumbent BJP in the state in May]. The idea requires the consensus of opposition parties and in the current political scenario, consensus seems impossible.”
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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