One Nation One Election : A Case Study

One Nation One Election

Welcome back to my blog. Recently , there's been a lot of buzz going on about the new One Nation One Election proposal, so I thought many people would want to know about this. Learning about One Nation One Election was a great experience for me and I hope it will be the same for you guys too, so sit back and start reading.

What Is One Nation One Election ?

Well to many of you how are unfamiliar with this, One Nation One Election is a proposal by the Indian Government which aims to synchronize all the elections of India to happen in a certain but same time category. You may be wondering why pull something out of such thin air. Well, the main reason the proposal focuses is to reduce the budget and the cost spent just on elections.

Is This A New Idea And What Are Some Other Countries That Have All Their Elections At The Same Time?

It might be an unknown fact but the first few elections post the independence of India  were held simultaneously but this practice was discontinued due to premature dissolution of some state assemblies. Other countries that have all their elections at the same time include Nepal, Sweden and Belgium.

Benefits

The main benefit of ONOE would be that it can save billions of rupees from just one election. According to the Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Media Studies, India spent more than 600bn rupees on 2019 general elections, making it the world's most expensive at the time. Previously, the Election Commission of India (EC) estimated that holding simultaneous elections across the country by 2029 would incur a cost of Rs 7,951 crore. It also allows the government to focus on projects without a frequent disruption of elections. There are no administrative hurdles for schools, police and other officials many times as the elections get over in one go.

Disadvantages

Many people opposing the idea of One Nation One Election believe that it will erase the idea of Federalism. Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country. The Opposition also claims that this will pave the way to dictatorship. Implementing this might also mean re-elections which might cause the terms of existing or newly formed governments to be cut short. This might be one of the biggest drawbacks of the proposal. It will also be vary hard and will take lot of time to implement this idea in the world's biggest democracy.The policy might also foreshadow the voices and problems of the states with the one of the nation. During national campaigns , the problems of the states are not well adressed. Researches also suggest that around 77% of the people will vote for the same state and national government which might not ensure completely fair elections. Frequent elections which are costly still ensure that the government is accountable to the people throughout their term.

Views Of Different Political Parties To The Proposal

We will not view all the political parties but just the major ones and their views.

Political Parties That Support "One Nation, One Election"

1. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP):

2. National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Partners:

3. Some Regional Parties:

Political Parties That Oppose "One Nation, One Election

1. Indian National Congress (INC):

2. Left Parties (CPI, CPI(M), etc.):

3. Trinamool Congress (TMC)

4. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)

5. Samajwadi Party (SP)

Parliamentary Process For Passing Of The Bill As A Law

1.Bill will be read in the Lok Sabha

2.After voting if 2/3 of the 543 members which is 362 members vote for the bill to be passed, it will move on to the Rajya Sabha

3.Bill will be read in the Rajya Sabha

4.After voting if 2/3 of the 245 members which is 167 members vote for the bill to be passed, it will move on to the president

5.If the president approves of it , the bill will be passed.

BJP's Plan

Phase 1-Synchronizing Lok Sabha and State Elections

When a voter walks inside a polling both he will have to cast 2 votes, one for the MP who will decide the central government and one for the MLA who will decide the state government.

Phase 2- Bring Local Body Elections Into The Same System

After 100 days of the first set of elections, the municipal, corporate and panchayat elections will be held.

What Happens If A Government Is Dissolved Due To A Political Crisis?

As I had earlier mentioned that the first few elections post the independence of India  were held simultaneously but this practice was discontinued due to premature dissolution of some state assemblies.Many of you might be wondering, what if this happens again. Well, let's take a scenario. Imagine a government comes to power in 2025 and their term is until 2030 but due to some political crisis , the government is dissolved in 2027. The rest 3 years are known as an unexpired term. There will be an election held for the government in 2027 but they will rule only till 2030 and the elections will be synchronised again.

Probablity That The Bill Will Be Passed

As we all know BJP is the party proposing the bill and it is part of the NDA or the National Democratic Alliance. The Bill requires 2/3 majority in both houses to be passed.

As of December 2024, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) holds the following number of seats in India's Parliament:

Lok Sabha (House of the People): The NDA has 293 seats out of 543.

Rajya Sabha (Council of States): The NDA has 121 seats out of 245.

A two-thirds majority in each house is calculated as follows:

• Lok Sabha: Two-thirds of 543 seats is approximately 362 seats.

• Rajya Sabha: Two-thirds of 245 seats is approximately 164 seats.

Therefore, the NDA does not possess a two-thirds majority in either house of Parliament.So the probability of the bill being passed is unlikely unless the NDA gets the support of many other parties.

My Opinion

My opinion is not going to be bias to any political party but I strongly believe One Nation One Election will be a transformative opportunity for India to use billions of rupees on important things like education, roads and improving infrastructure in villages instead of using all of it just on elections. Write a small description of your opinion in the comment section below.