One nation one poll: Amit Shah writes to Law Commission

Pitching for simultaneous elections to state assemblies and Lok Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party said it would bring stability into India's polity and strengthen the federal structure of the country. Barring a few parties, most of the NDA allies and most of the opposition parties are opposed to the idea of holding simultaneous elections.

The idea, floated several times in the past, had got a fillip when Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly pushed for it saying it would help save money and ensure better governance in the country. The BJP sent four of its senior leaders to Law Commission presently studying the proposal with a letter from party chief Amit Shah.

Shah in his letter cited several examples to address the concerns forwarded by the opposition parties against the idea. “During 2016, Maharashtra had elections for most part of the year. Out of the 365 days, the state had the model code of conduct in some part of the state due to several elections, be it Lok Sabha, state assembly or local bodies. This led to hindrances in the state’s development,” Shah said in his letter to Justice B.S. Chauhan (retired) who heads the Law Commission.

One of the main arguments of parties like the Left, the Congress and the AAP is that holding simultaneous elections would mean that presidential form of government coming into play. The regional aspirations and parties will be worst sufferers as people would favour one party both at the Centre and the state.

Shah in his letter argued that there have been examples where elections were held simultaneously to Centre and state, and two separate party governments were elected. He cited the example of Karnataka which in 1980 voted for Congress in the Lok Sabha polls, but elected a JD(S) government in the state.

To make 'one nation, one poll' into reality, legislative amendments will be required into the People's Representation Act, uniformity should be brought into the national and state level voters list, and state and national laws and rules should be brought on same page.

The BJP chief said a national consensus needs to be arrived at to make this possible. Earlier speaking at various fora, Shah had denied that Modi government will hold simultaneous elections for the 2019. But this has not quelled the apprehensions in the mind of the several parties which accuse the BJP of trying to force homogeneity of the political views across the country.

Shah termed the criticism of 'one nation, one poll' as inspired by narrow political views and called it inappropriate. “There may be a short term pain, but its advantages will save the country of huge resources,” he said. The BJP president said other issues like ensuring adequate EVMs, police force, personnel can be worked out.

“There are over 9.3 lakh polling booths and over one crore workers are posted during the elections. During 2011, over Rs 700 crore was spent, while the government expenses jumped to Rs 4000 crore in 2014 polls. Simultaneous elections will reduce that cost. This exercise has been successful in several countries,” BJP general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Bhupender Yadav said after meeting the Law Commission.