One-nation, one -election: Is BJP planning an 'electoral coup?'

NT Correspondent

New Delhi: Is the Narendra Modi-led NDA government set to introduce the highly controversial ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill during a special session of Parliament scheduled between September 18 and 22?

Reports to this effect are feverishly doing the rounds after the dates for the special session were announced on Thursday.

The ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill has been on the BJP-led government’s agenda since Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister.

Though the government has not made the legislative agenda of the Parliament session clear, there is speculation that this Bill is on the cards.

Passing the Bill will require a constitutional amendment. For a constitutional amendment, Parliament needs to pass the Bill with two-third majority – which is 67% of the 543 seats in Lok Sabha, and 67% of the 245 seats in Rajya Sabha.

In addition, the Bill will need to be ratified by not less than half of the state legislatures in the country- that's 14 states.

Five states are set to go to polls in a few months from now-in all probability in December-and the results of the ‘mini’ general election could be a trend-setter for the Lok Sabha polls scheduled to happen in April-May next year in the normal course.

The BJP would like to avoid losses in these elections at any cost after the crushing defeat it suffered in the Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls.

One way to avoid this would be to have a simultaneous poll in all states and UTs along with the parliament polls where the national trend - which the BJP expects to be in favour of PM Modi-could also tilt the balance in favour of the saffronists in the states.

Concurrent elections for Parliament and the state assemblies means people will vote for their state governments and also for the Union government on the same day.

India held simultaneous elections till 1963. However after certain state assemblies were dissolved, it became difficult to go ahead with it.

It is estimated that the Union government spent Rs 10,000 crore to conduct the 2019 Lok Sabha polls while states spend anything between Rs 250-500 crore per state election.

Several parties, particularly regional, have however expressed strong opposition to the proposal.

The AAP has called it undemocratic and most parties in the INDIA alliance have already expressed their disapproval. Voters who may vote on regional issues for Assembly elections and national issues for Parliamentary elections could get confused, they contend.