Dec 17, 2024 09:12 PM IST
Following the Union Cabinet’s approval, the introduction in Parliament of amendment bills to usher in simultaneous elections is a significant moment for India’s storied parliamentary democracy
Following the Union Cabinet’s approval, the introduction in Parliament of amendment bills to usher in simultaneous elections is a significant moment for India’s storied parliamentary democracy. When implemented, “one nation, one election” will reclaim the sanctity and spirit of our Constitution, as bequeathed by the creators of our foundational document, in the context of simultaneous elections. This also reiterates Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s commitment to further strengthen cooperative federalism and consolidate nation-building.
The historic Constituent Assembly, which spanned nearly three years, was tasked with the crucial responsibility of framing our Constitution. The Constituent Assembly debates witnessed the finest minds of the time deliberate and discuss a wide range of topics like the Preamble, untouchability, uniform civil code, right to equality, and federalism among other areas of national relevance. But, very conspicuously, there seems to have been no detailed dialogue nor debate on simultaneous elections. Our Constitution creators probably felt that a synchronous cycle of simultaneous elections was the natural way forward and thus would be retained. They could not have envisaged how democratically elected state governments would later be toppled by Congress-led Union governments, showing scant regard for cooperative federalism while throwing all constitutional norms to the wind.
By and large, the first three elections to the Lok Sabha, from 1952 to 1967, witnessed a synchronised cycle of simultaneous elections along with various State assemblies. In 1959, the Jawaharlal Nehru-led government at the Centre imposed President’s rule in a state for the first time ever, by dismissing Kerala’s elected Communist government. Indira Gandhi, during her time as the prime minister, dismissed elected state governments about 50 times using Article 356. Between 1966 and 1977, her government toppled 35 state governments. In 1970, for the first time ever, a Lok Sabha’s tenure was cut short and dissolved ahead of time.
The Indira Gandhi government, elected in early 1971, launched a frontal assault on democracy and tried to crush our Constitution by imposing the dreaded Emergency in 1975, which lasted for 21 months. Since the government could not legally continue beyond five years without an election, Article 172 was amended to extend the duration of the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies from five to six years. This was done singularly to ensure that the Indira Gandhi government could continue with its Emergency regime, without having to face an election.
The Congress party’s premature dismissal of democratically elected state governments shattered the synchronous cycle of simultaneous elections, which had prevailed since 1952.
The Election Commission of India (ECI), in 1983, proposed simultaneous elections, but the then Congress government decided against it. The Law Commission of India, in 1999, headed by justice BP Jeevan Reddy, who had been a judge at the Supreme Court, said in its 170th report, “We should go back to the situation where (elections to) the Lok Sabha and all the Assemblies are held together”. In 2015, a parliamentary standing committee headed by Congress Member of Parliament, EM Sudarsana Natchiappan, offered its view on the feasibility of holding simultaneous elections. It said that simultaneous elections would mitigate and reduce: the massive expenditure undertaken on asynchronous polls, policy paralysis due to the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct, impact on delivery of essential services, and burden on crucial manpower deployed during elections. In 2020, addressing the All India Presiding Officers Conference, PM Modi said one nation, one election can’t be thought of merely as a subject of debate; rather, it was a necessity and need of the nation. When the high-level committee constituted by the government and headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind consulted various stakeholders, 32 political parties supported simultaneous elections, many even breaking ranks within the Opposition.
The introduction of “one nation, one tax” (Goods and Services Tax in 2017) transformed India into the fastest-growing economy in the world. “One nation, one ration card” (in 2018) empowered crores of families with food security. PM Modi, with the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, effected one nation, one Constitution throughout our country and then “one nation, one health card”, launched in 2020, secured nationwide health care support for our citizens. One nation, one election is a step in the right direction. This will pave the way for ensuring political stability, enhancing good governance, increasing voter turnout, reducing the burden on our security forces, and substantially eliminating corruption during elections.
CR Kesavan is a national spokesperson of the BJP.The views expressed are personal
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