Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in one of his first political initiatives after winning the 2019 general election with a bigger mandate than that of 2014, convened an all party meeting on June 19 to deliberate on a pet theme: one nation, one poll (ONOP). We call it his pet theme because he floated it soon after taking over in 2014. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) lacked the political strength to bring about the required changes in the Constitution for ONOP. Plus, there were divisions across the Indian political spectrum. The issue got put off. But not before it was referred to three bodies — a parliamentary committee, the Niti Aayog and the Law Commission — to deliberate upon.
The Law Commission of India released its draft report, after examining the legal and constitutional questions involved in conducting simultaneous elections, on August 30, 2018, before the 2019 general election. There was political silence over the report – until Modi returned to power on May 23.
The Prime Minister has returned to the idea. In June 19 meeting, he announced a committee to examine the issue and give its suggestions in a time-bound manner. Several Opposition parties, including the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Telugu Desam Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party, skipped the meeting. Union defence minister Rajnath Singh said that 40 parties were invited for the meeting; 21 attended, and three others gave their opinion in writing.
The underlying logic of ONOP sounds appealing. India has too many elections: a Lok Sabha poll every five years; and a few state Assembly polls every year. Election is an expensive exercise. According to the Centre for Media Studies, Election Commission of India spent an estimated Rs 10,000 crore on 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Together with spending by political parties and candidates, this could well go up to Rs 60,000 crore. Forget the Assembly polls, this much or more will be spent every 5 years for Lok Sabha election alone.
During elections, security personnel and government officials go on election duty for several months. Schoolteachers are engaged in revision of electoral rolls for several months before the election in which they perform other duties.
And most importantly, continuous election mode is a roadblock to good governance. Parties are forced to think about short term political considerations rather than long term challenges of administration and reforms. Elections often rely on sharp polarization, keeping society perpetually divided.
The Law Commission report observed that holding simultaneous elections will save public money, reduce burden on the administrative setup and security forces, ensure timely implementation of government policies, and will also ensure that the administrative machinery is engaged in development activities rather than electioneering.
So, why not change the system? Have one election for the Centre and state Assemblies simultaneously every five years, spare the rest of the time for governance, save public money and prevent wastage of human resources.
This broadly is the case of Modi, and other political advocates, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
But the critics of the idea, including the Congress, allege that the move will undermine democratic accountability, the federal structure and question its feasibility with the Constitutional scheme.
After the June 19 meeting, Congress spokesperson Gaurav Gogoi said: “Our legal experts, our constitutional experts have also said that this is perversion of the Constitution. The framer of our Constitution envisioned flexibility and envisioned federalism. So this brings in a sense of rigidity, this brings us constitutional change.”
BSP chief Mayawati boycotted the meeting, saying a consultation on the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) was more important. TMC chief and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee demanded a ‘white paper’ on the issue.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) chief Sitaram Yechury said: “Prolonging or shortening of assembly is anti-democracy, anti-federal. It’s bringing presidential rule in a backdoor.”
Then chief election commissioner OP Rawat said last year that simultaneous elections are not possible without a legal framework as any extension or curtailment of the term of assemblies will require a constitutional amendment. Poll officials had said that all political parties needed to be brought on board before such an exercise could be carried out.
India had simultaneous polls in 1951-52, 1957, 1962 and 1967 when general elections and elections to all state Assemblies were held together. The norm was discontinued following the dissolution of some Legislative Assemblies between 1968 and 1969. Since then polls to the Centre and the states have been held separately.
Simultaneous elections will require polls to states and Union Territories have to be synced by 2021, and then fresh simultaneous polls from 2024 onwards. This means that term of some state Assemblies will be extended or truncated. But Article 172 and Article 83 guarantee five-year terms to both the elected Lok Sabha and state assemblies, unless they are dissolved sooner. This will need to be amended for simultaneous polls. The People’s Representation Act, 1951(RPA Act 1951) and the Anti Defection Law will also need amendment for implementation of ONOP.
This may be difficult – considering NDA’s numbers in the Rajya Sabha and that some state Assemblies may not come around the idea – but not impossible.
What worries the critics of the idea is this question: what happens if there’s a hung legislature or if a government is dissolved prematurely. Will those state Assemblies wait for many years before electing a new government or be under President’s rule for a long time?
Yes, elections are expensive but simultaneous elections won’t come for a smaller price. According to the Law Commission, the cost of new EVMs for simultaneous polls will be Rs 4,500 crore. The EVMs have a lifespan of 15 years, which means in the new system, each of these machines will be used only three times and will need replacement thereafter. According to an estimate, Rs 13,982 crore will be spent on the new EVMs in 2034.
Yes, elections distract from governance, but regular elections also keep a check on the political executive. They serve as a regular democratic feedback mechanism. Take the case of three state assembly polls in December 2018 – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh. It was perhaps because of the rout in these three Hindi heartland states that the BJP realized it needed a course correction.
People vote differently in different elections – for the Lok Sabha, they have national issues in mind, and for the state, local issues. Again consider the example of the three Hindi heartland states. People who voted the Congress to power in these states voted the party out in the Lok Sabha. In simultaneous polls, voters may end up voting on national issues even for state elections, which would benefit larger national parties and marginalize regional parties. This may be the reason why all state satraps – Sharad Pawar, Mayawati, Mamta Bannerjee etc. – are opposing the idea.
Theoretically, the idea of one nation one poll may seem appealing on many counts but it does not seem yet a constructive idea to reform Indian elections. It’s time may not have come just yet.
