One Nation One Election: Pros and Cons

Table of Contents

Introduction:

The debate for One Nation, One Election is going on these days. Elections are the most important requirement for running a democracy. How it should be conducted is very important. In India, elections are held from one state to another. For some time, a debate in our country has been going on about whether all the elections should be conducted at once. It means Lok Sabha elections for the centre and Vidhan Sabha elections for the states should be conducted at the same time. Some are adding that elections for village panchayats and city municipal corporations should also be added to the same elections. This is called a one-nation election or simultaneous election.

Merits of One Nation One Election:

Elections Simultaneous elections will encourage politicians to work for long-term plans for the country.
As the dates of elections are announced by the Election Commission of India, a model code of conduct is applied with immediate effect. As per the Model Code of Conduct, no new scheme or developmental work can be announced. Also, the administration and transfer posting of the governments come under the election commission. This hampers development for months. It is done twice: once during Lok Sabha elections and then in assembly elections.
When elections take place, a model code of conduct is applied, during which the ruling party cannot launch any new schemes or make any transfers or appointments. So, the development will stop once, not twice.
The conduct of an election is a very expensive process. These elections are conducted with the money of taxpayers. The same money can be used for other development projects.

During the whole election process, the focus of the Prime Minister, the chief ministers, and other ministers is to win the election. They conduct rallies at different locations and travel from one place to another. During the whole period, they can’t focus on development work.
The elections are conducted with administrative staff like teachers, police, and others. During the election period, they can’t focus on teaching and other activities.

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Demerits of One Nation One Election:

When the first election was conducted in India, all the elections were conducted together. But the process failed. In many states, the roiling party failed for five years, and the election had to be conducted by the election commission.

The common man generally complains that once politicians win the election, they generally don’t come to the public. If they realise that they have to come directly after 5 years to take the votes of the public, they may become lazier and ignore the public completely.
Conducting all elections together may confuse the voters. In rural areas, people are not that aware of the process.
Presently, if any MP or MLA dies, then the election commission has to be conducted by poles to fill that seat. So, in any case, we can’t run away from elections.
If elections are conducted simultaneously, there is a possibility that it will provide an advantage to the same party at the centre and the state. If there is a strong sentiment for a particular party, the voters will vote for the same party at the centre as well as at the state.
When state elections are conducted along with the centre, the regional parties may get marginalised because the same party getting the majority in the centre may get votes in the state as well.

State elections should be conducted on the agenda of state issues. If both elections are conducted simultaneously, there is a possibility that the national issue will dominate over the regional issue, and the problems of the voters will be resolved after the elections are over.

Conclusion

One nation one election would be a good change if it could be carried out with the proper execution of policies and rules, taking care of the rising need for good administrative staff and security. The standing committee has said that solutions should be found to reduce the frequency of elections in India so that government machinery, as well as the election commission, can get some time for other administrative work.