The Union Cabinet has approved the government’s ‘one nation, one election’ push – which proposes simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, with urban body and panchayat polls to be held within 100 days – accepting the report of a panel led by ex-President Ram Nath Kovind.
Holding simultaneous poll will “transform the electoral process (and) governance” and “optimise scarce resources”, the high-profile panel said, noting 32 parties and prominent judicial figures, including former Supreme Court Chief Justices and High Court judges, had backed this measure.
Among the panel’s listed advantages for the ‘one nation, one election’ measure are that it makes the electoral process easier for voters. Synchronising polls will also result in higher and faster economic growth, and therefore a more stable economy, the panel argued, claiming a single round of elections will allow businesses and corporate firms to take decisions without fear of adverse policy changes.
Fifteen parties, including the Congress, have opposed the ‘one nation, one election’ push.
The panel, which submitted its report in March, also said it had studied “best practices from other countries”, and consulted economists and the Election Commission, before delivering its verdict, but also called for a legally sustainable mechanism to break and re-align existing electoral cycles.
