Union Minister Arjun Meghwal had listed 5 pros and 5 cons for “One Nation, One Election” in favour of a written reply given to the question raised by Kirodi Lal Meena. The government had asked the panel to review and examine the proposal regarding this for which the Union Minister came up with 5 hurdles and imperatives.
What is “One Nation, One Election”?
One Nation, One Election is a proposal made by the Modi government to synchronize the timings of all elections in India. This means that the Lok Sabha elections, State legislative Assembly elections and those of the local bodies must be held simultaneously.
5 Pros of One Nation One Election
- The asynchronous nature of the elections in India lead to the prolonged period of model code of conduct that in turn affects the developmental and welfare programs.
- Having simultaneous elections will save the cost of campaign for all the political parties by preventing the replicated and repeated administrative machinery of law and order.
- He cited the example of South Africa where the simultaneous elections are held for 5 years and municipal elections are held two years later.
- Even in UK, the term of Parliament is governed by the Fixed-term Parliament Act 2011.
- In Sweden, the elections for the national legislature and county Council and the local bodies are held on the same day which is the second sunday of September for four years.
5 cons of One Nation, One Election
- To execute this move, 5 articles of the Indian Constitution have to be amended. These include Article 83- duration of Houses of the Parliament, Article 85- dissolution of Loksabha by the president, Article 172- duration of state legislatures, Article 174- dissolving state legislatures and Article 356- president’s rule in states.
- India has a federal structure so the consensus of all the states are imperative and required.
- Simultaneous elections will also require the consent of all the political parties.
- This move could also cost crores of money as more EVMs and VVPAT machines would be needed.
- Additional polling personnels and security personnels are also required for this move.
