ONE NATION- ONE ELECTION

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The Government of India’s holding of a special session of Parliament from September 18 to 22 has sparked many thoughts like One Nation- One Election, (UCC), Uniform Civil Code, Women’s Reservation Bill, G20, Chandrayaan, New Parliament Building, etc.

Especially One Nation-One Election is attracting all attention.

Elections will be held simultaneously for 543 MP seats in 29 states across the country.
But holding elections in all the states at the same time is a bit of a problem. Earlier, the Government of India had tried four times between 1950-60 to hold One Nation- One Election and failed.

Another time in 2018, the then H ble , President said in his Parliament message about One Nation- One Election. It means that the government is quiet working on this issue very deeply from 2018 onwards.

Now the same H ble, President is acting as the Chairman of the One Nation- One Election Committee and is going into details for finalizing the report quickly.

The Prime Minister has repeatedly mentioned the benefits of simultaneous elections

If elections are held simultaneously, the cost will be lower and more voters will participate in the election process. The Prime Minister asserted that the ease of administration would be high, security challenges could be well overcome and development schemes could be made more extensive.

The establishment of a special session of Parliament and the appointment of the former President as the Chairman of the Committee are raising many doubts and suspicions.

Meanwhile states and people are expressing many doubts. The opposition and the states are coming forward and saying that there are some disadvantages too.

SOME OF THE MAJOR DISADVANTAGES ARE ELABORATED BELOW…
Domestic issues and regional issues are different. National issues over MP seats & Regional issues have a profound impact on MLA seats. If two elections are held at the same time, the regional issues and the national issues will affect each other and the voter will be confused. Analysts feel that Voter may not be able to take the right decision regarding the candidates

Regional parties and MLA candidates work based on local issues. Elections for more than 3800 MLA seats in the country mainly depend on local factors. On the contrary, the election process for 543 MP seats depends mainly on the country’s conditions. By holding these two elections as well as the local elections at the same time, the candidates as well as the Voters may be confused as to where to go. The opportunity for citizens to fully enjoy their right may be reduced. Some are of the opinion that democracy and its values will decrease a bit.

It is very strongly believed that regional parties will face a serious loss especially from a One Nation- One Election of this kind as the country’s problems can affect prospects of the regional parties and make their electoral process difficult. Therefore, it would be better to approach the regional parties to collect their views and then start the One Nation- One Election
For example, AAP in the national capital, DMK in Tamil Nadu, YCP in Andhra, BRS in Telangana, BJD in Orissa have gained state power by dominating regional issues. Now, many regional parties are expressing some objections in the matter of one country and one election, as if the regional issues will be left behind and their survival will be hampered if the elections are held simultaneously.

Our country is built on the principle of unity in diversity with many cultures and many languages. Due to simultaneous elections, the people of different regions and different cultures may not be able to express themselves properly. Others point out that this is a factor that makes expression difficult, while others point out that it leads to dictatorial tendencies. Also, some people are saying that the central government will be strengthened by taking away the powers of the states.

WHAT ELSE IS GOOD TO DO?

Instead of holding MP & MLA elections across the country simultaneously it would be advantageous to hold elections for 543 MP seats, and for 3822 MLA seats separately (without mixing MP seats with elections).
This means that in two stages, the central government will get stability and the state governments will also have a good opportunity to take their views on regional issues to the attention of the voters, fight elections, and take their ambitions to the people.
States and regional parties desiring Central Government to think in this direction.