The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi Independence Day PM Modi has addressed the country from the Red Fort on the 78th anniversary of the 2014 Independence Day. In his speech, PM Modi has once again stressed the need for ‘One Nation, One Election’. He said that from the Red Fort, I urge the political community to support the idea of ”One Nation, One Election”. But do you know what One Nation One Election is?
PM Modi
PM Narendra Modi In his 98-minute speech today, he stressed on One Nation One Election. He said that it is important for the country to unite behind this initiative. He said that frequent elections create a deadlock in the country. Today every scheme and initiative seems to be influenced by the election cycle and every activity is colored by political considerations.
Committee
The committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind submitted its report on ‘One Nation, One Election’ in March this year. This report of the Ram Nath Kovind Committee is of a total of 18,626 pages. In this report, it has been recommended to hold simultaneous elections in 2029.
What is the idea of ’one country one election’?
One Nation One Election means holding the Parliament, Assembly and local body elections simultaneously at the same time. In simple words, it can be understood that voters will vote for all three levels of government or administration in just one day.
‘One Nation One Election’ in these countries
Let us tell you that elections are held simultaneously in many countries of the world. For example, in Sweden, elections of states and district councils are held every four years along with the general elections. Apart from this, in South Africa also general elections and state elections are held simultaneously. During these elections, voters are also given separate voting papers. In other countries of the world, presidential and legislative elections are held simultaneously under the presidential system in countries like Brazil, Philippines, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana and Honduras.
What will be the benefit of ‘One Nation One Election’
By holding Lok Sabha and Assembly elections together in the country, the expenditure on elections can be reduced. In simple words, the expenditure on elections on the state exchequer will be reduced. Due to which development works will be accelerated. Apart from this, the exercise of arranging EVMs at polling booths, security and deployment of employees for elections will not have to be done again and again. This will also help in increasing the participation of common people in the electoral process. Apart from this, if elections are held once, it will increase the vote percentage. At the same time, development works are also affected due to repeated implementation of the Model Code of Conduct by the Election Commission, development works will not be affected by elections being held once.
Election Process
‘One Nation One Election’ will change the entire election process of the country. This will lead to simultaneous elections across the country. Let us tell you that this is not the first time that the government is considering the decision to hold simultaneous elections. The Election Commission first suggested this to the government in 1983. The idea came up in the first annual report of the Election Commission of India published that year. After this, the Law Commission came up with this idea in 1999. The Law Commission recommended simultaneous elections in its report on electoral reforms. At the same time, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice in 2015, NITI Aayog in 2017 and the Law Commission headed by Justice BS Chauhan in 2018 released their draft report on simultaneous elections.
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