One Nation One Election: Modi aims status quo disruptions; Kovind to prepare report

By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, September 1: Aiming one more disruptions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tasked for President Ram Nath Kovid to prepare a report for holding simultaneous elections, according to a source-based alert by PTI on Friday. The development has come close on the heels of Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi announcing that a special session of parliament would be held from September 18.

With five states heading for Assembly elections later this year, there are suggestions that the government may push for the idea to test the efficacy of holding simultaneous elections, which was a practice on the country till 1967. The country had seen first four elections in such manner and till recently Odisha and Andhra Pradesh were going for polls along with Lok Sabha elections.

Incidentally, ‘One Nation One Election’ has been a major theme of Modi, and former vice president of the Bharatiya Janata Party Vinay Sahashrabuddhe was also given a task to hold consultations with the cross-sections of the civil society to collate wide views on the practicality of the idea. Sahashrabuddhe had presented the report to the prime minister a few years ago, and the idea since then hand been lying in the cold storage. But now Modi appears to have pulled out the idea to aim for another disruptions, as has been his wont and seen through demonetization.

There are suggestions that some of the states could go to the polls along with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections even without the necessity of the Constitution amendment. There are also speculations that the Modi government may hold discussions on the idea of ‘One Nation One Election’ during the five-day special session.

Kovind is likely to give report after holding consultations with Constitution experts. There is no confirmation yet if the government has set any time frame for Kovind to submit the report. However, he may study the report submitted by Sahashrabuddhe.

Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram area heading for Assembly elections later this year. Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and a few more states would go to polls next year. The government may aim to club such states with the 20204 Lok Sabha elections.  

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us

Save

About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

See author's posts