The country is now moving towards ‘One Nation One Election’. On September 18, the Union Cabinet approved the proposal of the committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind on One Nation One Election.
In fact, the committee led by the former President had submitted its report on One Nation One Election in March 2024. In this episode, let us tell you how simultaneous elections were conducted in India after independence and then how that system was discontinued.
Earlier elections in the country were held on this pattern
Although there is a lot of talk about One Nation One Election today, but the elections held in the country for about 20 years after India’s independence were somewhere on the lines of One Nation One Election. That is, during these years, the elections of the Center and the states were held simultaneously in the entire country.
Let us tell you, this system started with the first general election of India in 1952 and lasted till the elections of 1967. That is, at that time elections were held for the central and state assemblies at the same time across the country. Let us now know how it ended?
How was ‘simultaneous elections’ stopped?
After independence, the hold of the Congress party was strong in the country. This was the reason that Congress governments were being formed continuously in the states as well as at the center. But by 1960, the hold of Congress started weakening in some states of the country. Then came the general election of 1967. This was the fourth general election of the country. In this, the people had to choose the government for both the center and the state.
The problem for the Congress party was that it was contesting an election without Pandit Nehru as its face for the first time after independence. Well, Congress somehow managed to form the government at the centre, but had to face defeat in 6 states. In many states, the assembly had to be dissolved before time due to changing political circumstances. Haryana, Kerala, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were such states. Where either the CM was changed several times or the assembly was dissolved and President’s rule was imposed.
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Then came the general election of 1971. Actually, the fourth general election in the country was held in 1967, so as per rules the next general election should have been held after five years in 1972. But, the then Prime Minister of the country Indira Gandhi had become very powerful and popular due to her many big decisions like nationalization of banks, separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan. Her well-wishers explained to her that if general elections are held at this time, then the Congress Party will win with a big majority and come to power.
Indira Gandhi understood this and the general election scheduled for 1972 was held in 1971 itself. Meanwhile, due to dissolution of the assembly in different states of the country, elections started being held at different times. Due to the elections for the center being held in 1971 itself, the gap between the time of elections of the states and the center started increasing and this gap has remained till today.
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