What is One Nation, One Election?

India is the largest democracy, and now, also the most populous country in the world. Ever since the adoption of the Constitution, India has been a free country. People have the right to vote and choose their representative both at state and national level. This takes place through an elaborate system of elections. But both these elections take place at different times for a lot of reasons that are discussed ahead.

Now imagine, you’re in an alternate India where the political scene is flipped. Instead of taking place at different times, the Union and State elections happen simultaneously. All the campaigning, rallies and promises happen only once in 5 years. There is no year round rallying or multiple elections. Rather, there is just one big, organised election event aimed at picking the right representative out of the many contesting. Doesn’t it seem unreal? This is called One Nation, One Election, where citizens would vote for both the State and the Centre simultaneously.

For the records, this really had been the case, but for only 4 terms, from 1951 to 1967. Later, it was discarded due to many reasons, like early dissolution of either house or a coalition collapse. It is then that the idea of holding separate elections was adopted and has been running until now.  Though, now, the former President Ramnath Kovind constituted a High-Level Committee to examine the scene of holding simultaneous elections. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi favours the same.

The Current Situation

Right now, elections in India are a continuous affair. Every year, there are some or the other elections that one has to go to and cast a vote for. From setting up polling stations, the intensive campaigning, the assurance of free and fair elections takes an army, quite literally.

On the other hand, the One Nation, One Election is more favourable and convenient considering the difference in cost, governance and administration.

 What Could Change?

The data analysis from previous years and the estimate for the next have been figured out, based on which, the simultaneous elections get more favour.

First of all comes the expenditure. Approximately Rs 60,000 Crore was spent on Lok Sabha elections in 2019. Had there been simultaneous elections then, the cost would have come down dramatically, which could have instead been invested in some other betterment project. The cost difference is because all the procedures and practices happen twice in case of separate elections.

Then, with the current setup, the country is mostly in an election-mode, which impacts the government and its functionality. In this case, the government spends more time to impress people with promises and gets less time to actually implement them. Had this been only a one-time affair, the Government would have had to campaign just once in 5 years and spend the rest of the time in the betterment of the country, without any distractions. Further, according to the Code of Conduct, the government cannot even activate any new projects during the campaign phase, even if it is needed urgently.

The Administrative front also suffers right now as paramilitary forces are required to ensure a smooth conduct of elections. If there were simultaneous elections, the forces would still be put on this duty, but only once.

It also gets exhausting for the voters to turn up every now and then with the current system of elections. The frequency increases remarkably in states where elections happen more often due to conflicts or collapses. The proposed criterion would only increase voter turnout as they will be less fatigued and more interested.

The Challenges of Implementing One Nation One Election in India

Even after considering all of the above-stated factors, it’s not to bring back the One Nation, One Election method.

There are many obstacles in the way, such as the current Constitutional system. At present, the tenures of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are not aligned. If the simultaneous elections are to be practised, a lot of amendments would be required. Apart from that, in case a House is dissolved early due to any reason, there is no clear indication of what would happen in such a situation. Would it wait for the 5-year term to end to elect a new representative, or would the other House too be elected over again.

Secondly, it is believed that the simultaneous elections would come with a bias. The National parties would be favoured over the regional ones and their local issues would become a national affair. The smaller parties fear that the National parties’ influence would sweep them off their own ground.

Additionally, it would also be challenging to manage such vast elections, logistically speaking. The setting up of numerous polling stations, ensuring free and unbiased elections, and taking care of the security would be a daunting task.

Impact of One Nation One Election on India’s Democracy

In holding elections separately, it has been observed that the voters get tired when they are required to go and vote multiple times for different layers of the Indian Constitution. India is a federal and democratic country and every year, more and more people realize their right to vote, which is a positive sign. But if they were required to vote just once for all the strata, they would feel much more interested and much less tired. Possibly, the voter turnout would also increase.

While that is one case, there is another side of the coin too. With simultaneous elections taking place, the voters might find themselves in a state of confusion. They might get impressed by one party at one level, and might get emotional in voting for the same Party at the other level too, irrespective of the appeal. This is called a wave effect that is not good for democracy.

A Rise or a Downfall?

Going by the above-stated facts, one cannot really say which is better:  One election or multiple elections. With a country so vast, it will for sure get challenging in case we do go by the One Election criterion. We have faith in the decision-making bodies, and surely, whatever they decide will be in the best interest of the public.

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