Tug of war over 'one nation, one election' proposal, govt faces strong opposition

The government has appointed a panel of three union ministers to hold talks with opposition parties to build a consensus before moving the 'one nation, one election' bill to the House.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the approval of the "one nation, one election" proposal by his Cabinet is an important step towards making "democracy even more vibrant and participative."

“This is an important step towards making our democracy even more vibrant and participative,” Modi said in a post on X on Sep 18, adding, “The Cabinet has accepted the recommendations of the High-Level Committee on Simultaneous Elections. I compliment our former President, Shri Ram Nath Kovind Ji, for spearheading this effort and consulting a wide range of stakeholders.”

Rajnath Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal, and Kiren Rijiju will meet with opposition parties to discuss a landmark move aimed at holding Lok Sabha and assembly elections concurrently, which the government claims will cut costs and reduce logistical hurdles in the world's largest democracy's voting process.

On Sep 18, a high-level team led by former President Ram Nath Kovind gave its report to the Union Cabinet, outlining a thorough roadmap for implementing simultaneous elections.

The team has advised holding concurrent elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the first phase, followed by synchronized local body elections over a 100-day timeframe.

The Kovind committee had suggested a two-stage implementation. The Congress, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Trinamool Congress, the AIMIM, and the Samajwadi Party, among others, opposed the proposal during the discussion with the panel.

A total of 47 political parties gave feedback, with 32 in agreement with the proposal and 15 of them disagreeing with simultaneous elections.

The idea seeks to streamline the country's political process by reducing the frequency of elections, which are currently held every year at various levels of government. It is also viewed as a cost-saving approach, with the potential to drastically reduce the financial and administrative load associated with frequent elections.

Despite speculation that the bill will be introduced in Parliament's winter session, official sources have said that the government is under no pressure to introduce "one nation, one election" during the winter session.

"The government is keen to do its homework and build a consensus on the bill before introducing the bill in parliament," said the source.

The Cabinet's approval of the proposal sparked an immediate reaction from the opposition bloc, signaling that the bill could lead to a bitterly polarized session when it is brought to Parliament.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “We don’t stand with this. One nation, one election cannot work in a democracy. Elections need to be held as and when required if we want our democracy to survive.”

In response, Vaishnaw said, “The opposition might start feeling internal pressure (about One Nation, One Election) as more than 80% of respondents who participated in the consultation process have expressed positive support, particularly the youth, who are very much in favor of this.”

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader and Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi condemned the move. “I have consistently opposed #OneNationOneElections because it is a solution in search of a problem. It destroys federalism and compromises democracy, which is part of the basic structure of the Constitution. Owaisi posted on X.

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)’s Arvind Sawant, in a statement, accused the government of not realizing the country’s priorities and stressed that his party would lay bare what he called “flaws” of the proposal.

The opposition Samajwadi Party (SP), too, in a statement condemned the move, saying the the government was “confused” about implementing “one nation, one poll” and should make it clear how such a move would help the country.

Castigating the Central government for clearing the proposal, Trinamool Congress parliamentarian Derek O'Brien, in a statement, said, “One nation, one election is just another cheap stunt from the anti-democratic BJP.”

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Union Cabinet’s decision on “One Nation, One Election” reflects PM Modi’s iron will to bolster democracy through clean and financially efficient elections.

“Bharat has been witnessing transformative reforms. Today, in this direction, Bharat takes a giant stride towards landmark electoral reforms with the Union Cabinet accepting the recommendations of the High-Level Committee on One Nation, One Election. This reflects Modi Ji’s iron will bolster our democracy through clean and financially efficient elections and accelerate economic growth through more productive allocation of resources,” Shah posted on X.

The BJP also called the Congress “desh virodhi (against the country) for its stand on the proposal.

Janata Dal (United), or JD (U), sources said their leader Nitish Kumar “has always been in favor” of ONOP. The BJP ally expressed its support for the initiative.

Congress leader TS Singh Deo questioned the “feasibility” of holding simultaneous polls, saying, “This is not possible in today's time and under the Constitution... Suppose 'One Nation, One Election' is implemented from January 2025; elections would be held simultaneously for the Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha across the country.”

“If a state or central government falls after two years and is elected for five years, its next election might not be until 2032, while other places will have elections in 2030. What happens to this system in such situations?” he added.

“This is not possible at all... What about constitutional provisions that mandate elections for vacant seats remaining open for six months? This would require constitutional amendments as well,” he continued.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Mahua Maji accused the BJP of using 'One Nation, One Election' to undermine regional parties.

He said, “The BJP has been trying this for a long time and wants only one party to rule the country. Recently, they broke the NCP and Shiv Sena and nearly wiped out the BJD in Odisha. Similarly, they are trying to weaken the JMM in Jharkhand and other regional parties.”

AAP MP Sandeep Pathak questioned the practicality of simultaneous elections.

“A few days ago, elections for four states were expected, but only Haryana and J&K were announced, leaving Maharashtra and Jharkhand out. If they cannot manage simultaneous elections for four states, how will they handle it for the entire country? What if a state government falls before its term ends? Will the president's rule be imposed? Is this a plan to destabilize states?” questioned Pathak.