One Nation One Election

Elections are the most basic necessity for the operationalization of democracy, so it is of utmost significance how it should be performed. Elections are the means of serving individuals, but it should not become democracy's most significant factor.

One Nation One Election: Pros & Cons

Every year, one or the other state is up for an election. This campaigning process is often very tiring, and the cost of conducting is also very high.

The proposal of 'One Nation, One Election' has been put forward by the Modi government which means conduction of simultaneous elections.

What does One Nation One Election mean?

Simultaneous election means that a single voter will vote on the same day for both Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections, and elections can be conducted in all states in a phase-wise manner.

Although the idea on paper looks very appreciable as it is going to be highly economical anyway, the physical behavior of this mammoth task by the administrative and security machinery of the election commission/government will be almost impossible.

Brief History About Simultaneous Elections:

It can be observed that conducting simultaneous elections is nothing new for Indian parliamentary democracy; rather, until 1967 it was a norm.

However, separate elections to government assemblies and the Lok Sabha were held after the dissolution of the Legislative Assemblies in 1968 and 1969 and then, Lok Sabha in December 1970.

To conduct simultaneous elections in 2024, elections can be synchronized with the general elections held in May 2019 for 12 State Assemblies and one Union Territory (Pondicherry), whose elections took place in 2018 or 2019, as the rest of the states are in the middle of their five-year term. By the end of 2021, elections to the remaining state legislatures and union territories with the legislature can be held together to synchronize their elections.

From 2024 onwards, elections to the Lok Sabha, all State Legislative Assemblies and Union Territories (with legislatures) may be held simultaneously.

What is the Model of Conduct of One Nation One Election?

A consensus will need to be built up across separate domestic and regional parties to perform concurrent voting in the Center and the countries.

The method of building tenure stabilization measures for both the parliament and assemblies will require constitutional amendments of five articles and amendment of the 1951 Representation of People's Act. Below are the articles that require changes:

• Article 83, dealing with the tenure of Houses of Parliament.
• Article 85, dealing with the dissolution of Lok Sabha by the President.
• Article 172 that deals with the duration of state legislatures.
• Article 174 that deals with the dissolution of state assemblies.
• Article 356 that deals with the President’s rule.

It will also require restructuring the Election Commission's powers and functions to facilitate the processes necessary for simultaneous elections.

Finally, it will require a two-thirds majority of Parliament's Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha, the above amendments would involve ratification by at least half of the country's state assemblies.

Below are the Pros & Cons of Simultaneous Elections:

Pros of One Nation One Election (Simultaneous Election):

1. In several other nations, including Britain, the same scheme is used, from where we have occupied the bulk of our constitutional Ideas.
2. Simultaneous elections will decrease the huge expenses of distinct In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, a whopping Rs 60,000 crore ($8.5 billion) was spent, while the US presidential and congressional elections coupled were $6.5 billion in 2016.
3. The above expense involves expenditure from India's Election Commission (ECI) and Rs 50,000 crore, which has been formally spent by political parties and is hard to track obviously. In other words, during numerous elections, a lot of unaccounted for cash also finds its way into the scheme.
4. The frequent disruptions induced by the imposition of model code of conduct hamper the government's correct functioning, which adversely impacts the service delivery to a common
5. Although the imposition of model code does not prevent the continuation of work on already announced schemes/policies, the machinery of the government comes to a staggering halt once it enters the electoral. In addition, the model code puts an end to new schemes/policies being announced.
6. Simultaneous polling will increase the turnout of voters according to the Law Commission’s Analysis.
   We can also increase vigilance, as all government staff can be used at a single time, and factors such as black money, booth capture, can be reduced

Cons of One Nation One Election (Simultaneous Election):

1. States ' assembly elections are generally fought on more inherent state-related problems such as legislation and order, education, health care, supply of vital services such as water, electricity, etc. Simultaneous elections can cloud the voters ' judgment and remove it from problems that are more important to the country, e.g. the Balakote airstrike pushed voters away from their localized problems and they voted for the courageous choice of Modi to teach Pakistan a lesson.
2. Holding elections once in five years is likely to reduce the political leadership's accountability. Frequent elections keep lawmakers on their toes throughout and for the next five years they can not take the masses for granted.
3. Given the trend of hung elections, when a state or even Lok Sabha is dissolved early, the greatest issue will happen. It will imply holding elections unnecessarily in all states again or imposing the law of the president in certain states where the state assembly has prematurely dissolved until the next five-year elections are held. The same will be against the very principles of our nation's parliamentary democracy and federal framework.
4. National parties can mute the voice of smaller parties at the state level as they have higher clout and more  The Smaller parties that came intobeing to tackle regional problems of the people of the state will be side-lined. 
5. If a party losses power in midterm or any minister is removed or dies, the seat will go vacant, then conducting simultaneous elections is easy with current method. But it would be difficult with simultaneous elections method.

Conclusion:

One India One Election would be a nice change if it could be done with adequate policy and regulations implementation, taking care of the growing need for excellent administrative employees and safety.