The proposal of ‘one nation, one election’ by the central government to hold simultaneous elections in the country has gained attention nationwide. Recently, former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi suggested that, if passed, One Nation, One Election would have serious implications for the democratic setup.
The centre has already constituted an eight-member high-level committee to inquire into the feasibility of the proposal, with former President Ram Nath Kovind serving as chairman of the committee.
“From a purely administrative perspective, there could be some benefits. But from the perspective of democracy and constitution, the benefits are not very correct,” he said. Detailing more on the point, he expressed that if the proposal is passed, it will be a setback for democracy even though it will make administration easier.
Further, Quraishi expressed concern that if implemented, it could lead voters to prioritize national issues in the state elections. “In a panchayat election, you might be concerned about the state of drainage or the working of an Anganwadi. I want that to function rather than bother about India’s policy towards Ukraine. So here is a local issue and an international issue, and they get mixed up,” he added. Responding to a question over votes getting diverted, he pointed out that there are many cases when different elections happen at the same time and votes get diverted towards one party due to confusion and chaos. But when elections are held within a gap of a few months, people get time to think about different policies and evaluate the work, and the results are different.
Legal Feasibility
Quraishi also added that the simultaneous elections will raise questions on the feasibility of constitution and law. If applied, many constitutional changes will be needed such as the fixed five year term in Lok Sabha and state assemblies under Article 83(2) and 173(1) respectively.
Accountability
Further assessing the ground realities, he added that when elections are held on a regular basis, politicians reach out to people and listen to their problems. If elections are held only once every five years, the politicians will not be seen after the elections. Therefore, regular elections should be held so control is in people’s hands, and it will also increase politicians’ accountability to the public at the ground level.
Feasibility of ONOE –
He also raised concerns about the feasibility of the elections. If all the elections at the national, state, and local levels are held at the same time, different bodies that conduct elections will have problems with their coordination. Also, a major problem will be the availability of EVMs for conducting different elections at the same time. At present, EVMs are recycled, but if ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal is passed, then there will be an accurate shortage of EVMs in the country.
