'One Nation, One Poll' now possible by 2029 .............. BJP, NDPP in Nagaland and NPP of Meghalaya 'supported' Simultaneous elections ::: It also means polling - in the same year, if not at the same time

 The parties those supported simultaneous elections include the BJP, NPP of Meghalaya, AIADMK; BJP allies All Jharkhand Students’ Union (AJSU), Apna Dal (Soneylal), Asom Gana Parishad, Lok Janshakti Party (R), 

the National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP of Nagaland), 

---- Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, Mizo National Front (MNF) and United People’s Party Liberal of Assam and JD(U), which recently returned to the NDA fold.

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The Congress party opposed the move and said the Simultaneous polls would “subvert parliamentary democracy”. 

The CPI-M called the concept “fundamentally anti-democratic”. AAP said it may lead to Presidenntial form of government. 

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The Biju Janata Dal of Odisha; Shiv Sena (Shinde faction of which is with the NDA); and Akali Dal in Punjab also supported the Simultaneous polls. 

The Kovind panel had sought opinion from 62 political parties in all, and held in-person interaction with 18 parties.

Out of the 47 political parties which gave their opinion to the Ram Nath Kovind-led panel on simultaneous elections, 32 supported the idea, whereas 15 opposed it. Of the parties which backed simultaneous polls, only two are national parties — the BJP and the Conrad Sangma-led National People’s Party (NPP), which is part of the BJP-led NDA.

All the other four parties recognised as national by the Election Commission — the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and CPI(M) — opposed simultaneous polls.

Of course, there are multiple challenges to shuffling and syncing electoral cycles, ranging from logistical and financial.

There are issues vis-a-vis conceptual, constitutional, legal, and even practical, given the size of the country and vast topographical and cultural differences between regions.

Simply put, 'One Nation, One Election' means all Indians will vote in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections - to pick central and state representatives - in the same year, if not at the same time. 

At present, there are a few that vote for a new state government at the same time as the country selects a new union government. 

Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Odisha are scheduled to vote at the same time as the April/May with the Lok Sabha elections.

Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana will vote later this year by October.

The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has to hold its first Assembly election in six years before September 30, in line with the recent Supreme Court order on restoration of statehood.

The rest follow a non-synced five-year cycle.

Karnataka voted in May 2023. The States Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Telangana, for example, were among those voting in November last year. 

Earlier 2003, three northeastern states Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura also went for polls to elect their respective legislature. In 2022, there were elections in UP, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.  

Next obvious question is - Will it happen this time?

The response should be they may start the process .... that is why so hurriedly done. 

The parties which opposed simultaneous elections include, apart from the four national parties, the AIUDF, Trinamool Congress, AIMIM, CPI, DMK, Naga People’s Front (NPF) and Samajwadi Party (SP).

The prominent parties which did not respond to the panel were the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of Telangana, IUML, J&K National Conference, JD(S), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Kerala Congress (M), NCP, RJD, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), TDP and RLD (both BJP allies now), and the YSRCP.

The Congress said that implementing simultaneous elections would result in “substantial changes to the basic structure of the Constitution”, went against “the guarantees of federalism” and would “subvert parliamentary democracy”. The Congress also dismissed the argument regarding saving on the cost of conducting repeated elections as “baseless”, saying that “people will be willing to consider this small amount as the cost of free and fair elections to uphold democracy”.

According to the Congress, which turned out a meeting with the Kovind panel in person, there was “no place for the concept of simultaneous elections in a country that has adopted a Parliamentary system of government”.

Bahujan Samaj Party

In its letter dated December 14, 2023, the BSP suggested that the High Level Committee considering simultaneous elections provide “a working framework” for the same. 

While it did not explicitly oppose simultaneous elections, it highlighted concerns regarding the large territorial extent and population of the country, which could make the implementation challenging.

The BSP also emphasised the need to “strengthen, optimise and ensure responsiveness in the existing electoral system” before embarking upon the massive change, and said the real solution to the current challenges lies in conducting free and fair elections in accordance with the Constitution.

The committee requested for interaction in person, but the report says, there was no response from the BSP.

Communist Party of India (Marxist)

The CPI(M), in its response on December 7, 2023, objected “to the manner in which the concept of simultaneous elections was being sought to be imposed”. It called the concept “fundamentally anti-democratic” and said it “strikes at the root of the parliamentary democratic system as ordained in the Constitution”.  Party members interacted in person with the Kovind panel.

Trinamool Congress

The TMC, which sent its response on January 11, 2024, questioned “the constitutional and structural implications of One Nation, One Election”, calling the same against the federal structure of the Constitution and against “basic electoral principles”. 

The TMC, which has held on to power in West Bengal against a spirited challenge from the BJP, also contended that forcing states into premature elections for the sake of contemporaneity would be “unconstitutional” and ultimately lead to “suppression of state issues”.

Aam Aadmi Party

The AAP submitted its response to the panel on January 18 this year, followed by personal interaction on February 8. In its response, the AAP said that simultaneous elections would undermine democracy, the basic structure of the Constitution, and the federal polity of the country. 

The move would “institutionalise a Presidential form of government which cannot be dislodged by a vote of no-confidence,” the party, which is in power in Punjab and Delhi (both of which are looking at shortened Houses if the panel’s proposals are accepted), said.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen

The AIMIM, in its letter dated January 15 this year, and a meeting in person on February 14, questioned the constitutional permissibility of incorporating such a “fundamental change”. The party said that elections were not mere formalities, and voters should not be treated as “rubber stamps”. 

With electoral democracy the pillar on which “India’s constitutional edifice” stands, the AIMIM said, the consultation process and polls cannot be subject to weak considerations such as administrative convenience or economic viability.