Simultaneous polls has Cabinet nod, but difficult to implement

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday, unanimously approved the proposal for 'one nation, one Election' as recommended by the Kovind panel. The high-level committee had recommended simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies as the first step followed by synchronised local body polls within 100 days. The panel had also proposed setting up of an 'Implementation Group' to look into the execution of the recommendations made by the committee, and preparation of a common electoral roll and voter ID cards by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in consultation with state election authorities in a phased manner after a countrywide consensus-building exercise.

However, contrary to the BJP –led NDA’s claims that there is no political motive, and that the federal structure of the Constitution will remain unaffected, the panel recommended as many as 18 constitutional amendments and other statutes, most of which will not need ratification by state Assemblies, but would require certain Constitution amendment Bills that would need to be passed by Parliament. The changes suggested include the amendment to Article 325 and Article 324A, and under Article 368(2) of the Constitution, ratification by not less than half of the states will be required to carry out amendments to the Constitution as these matters are related to state affairs. A question was raised by Opposition parties, and rightly so, as to why the Maharashtra polls were not announced with those in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir if the government wanted simultaneous elections while wondering how simultaneous polls in the entire country could be held, when four states could not be tagged together. The architects of the Indian Constitution had enshrined the principles of federalism while framing it. Frequent and periodic elections improve democratic accountability, contrary to the BJP’s claim that simultaneous polls will take the country's democracy through clean and financially efficient elections and accelerate economic growth through more productive allocation of resources. The BJP has had a history of manipulating, coercing, diluting, absorbing and ultimately destroying smaller regional political parties, and it is well documented.

It has been known to misuse central agencies like the ED, CBI for cornering and exerting pressure on most opposition parties, particularly those who do not toe the BJP-RSS line. By pushing for simultaneous polls, is it trying to silence federalism and regional parties forever, thereby projecting itself as the ‘One and Only’ political entity in India? Under Article 368(2) of the Constitution, ratification by not less than half of the states will be required to carry out amendments to the Constitution as these matters are related to state affairs. It won't be a cake walk for the BJP, considering that it has not fared well in the recent Lok Sabha Polls in many of the states where it has been in power. Also, the 'one nation, one election' is not possible quickly as it requires constitutional amendments, as indicated by the Kovind Panel too. Does Prime Minister Narendra Modi have the requisite numbers to get these constitutional amendments in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha is the big question.