One nation , One election । One nation ,one election PARAGRAPH

 ONE NATION ONE ELECTION

Introduction :- As the elections in four states and one Union territory in March-April are suspected to have contributed to the second wave of Covid infections, a well-reasoned debate on a concept as important as “one nation, one election” is called for.The concept needs to be debated mainly around five issues: Financial costs of conducting elections; cost of repeated administrative freezes; visible and invisible costs of repeatedly deploying security forces; campaign and finance costs of political parties; and the question of regional/smaller parties having a level playing field.

What is One Nation One Election?

The election is an important procedure for the formation of government in any of the democratic nations in the world. The elections of State legislatures, Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha are held separately. The elections are conducted whenever the tenure of 5 years is completed or the government is dissolved. Thus, there are frequent elections in one or the other state of India throughout the year.

One nation ,one election is an election procedure that states that there will be only one common election for the state and national level elections. The election will be held only once after the completion of five years. This one election does not mean that it will happen on one day for all the people of India, instead the election will be held in phases. The people belonging to a particular constituency will have to vote for state assemblies and Lok Sabha at the same time.

An Account on One Nation One Election :- 

The concept of one nation ,one election is not a new one but had been in relevance after India got independence.

There were single elections during 1951-69 i.e. for two decades in the nation.

The disturbance in the election cycle because of the dissolution of legislative assemblies in 1968 and 1969 resulted in switching to separate elections from the procedure of single elections.

In 1983 the one nation ,one election concept was again recommended by the Election commission of India. It was also mentioned by the Law Commission in its report in the year 1999. Further excessive emphasis was laid on this concept since the formation of The Bharatiya Janata Party government since 2014.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been regularly highlighting the policy of one nation ,one election in his election campaigns, all party meets, media, talks, etc.

PM Modi Regularly Insisting On One Nation One Election :- 

The point of ‘one nation ,one election’ was raised and discussed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time in the year 2015. Later this need for this concept was presented by him in the All-Party Meet organized on the 19th of June in the year 2019. He has been regularly arranging discussions and debates on this topic at different forums in the nation with a vision that the people of the nation might understand the significance of conducting single elections. Moreover, the Prime Minister has also said that the frequent election in the nation is just a waste of effort and money. The adoption of the policy of a single election after every five years will reduce the frequent implementation of the model code of conduct that hinders the development works in the nation. Recently, 'The One Nation ,One Election' scheme was discussed by the Prime Minister on the 26th of November, which was the constitution day of India. He was virtually addressing the 80th All India Presiding Officers Conference. He insisted that one nation ,one election is the dire need of the nation.

Indian Law Commission on One Nation One Election :- 

One nation one election concept was in practice in India from 1951-69. It has been further disintegrated into separate election procedures because of the early dissolution of the cycle of legislative assemblies. Therefore the concept of simultaneous elections had been again recommended by the Election commission in the year 1983. Further, it was supported by the reports presented by the Law Commission of India.

The report was given by the Indian Law Commission in the year 1999 and it was its 170th report. It was based on 'Electoral reforms in India'.

Positive Sides OF ONE NATION ONE ELECTION:- 

Reduces workload during the Elections :- There is excessive manpower and machinery required during the elections. The concept of a single election will help in getting rid of these processes every year.

More attention on Developmental work :- At present, several elections are held every year in the nation. This keeps the administration busy in election activities all around the year. Single election after an interval of 5 years will reduce this workload and thus other development works, programs, and policies in the nation can be carried out with ease. Moreover, the political parties will get more time to concentrate and work for the public welfare deeds.

Cost-Effective :-  Every year a surplus amount of money is spent in conducting the elections of different states. Simultaneous process of elections in the nation will help in cutting the expenditure of conducting elections every year.

Negative Sides OF ONE NATION ONE ELECTION :- 

People’s Decisions will be Neglected :- Single election states that one election will be held in duration of 5 years and the government cannot be dissolved until the completion of 5 years tenure. This will stop people from expressing their discontentment for the government for 5 years. Thus it violates the real meaning of the freedom of democracy.

Coordination of One Election is a Complicated Task :-  The process of carrying out the simultaneous elections in the nation is a complex process. It requires massive manpower, security, machinery, for conducting the elections in a peaceful manner. This might not be easy as it is to say and thus a challenging task to be completed with full security.

No Improvement in the Expenditure of Money by Political Parties :-  The political parties invest a huge amount of money in the different elections occurring every year. It is thought that this expenditure money would be reduced by single elections but this will continue as the same money spent in stages can be spent altogether.

Obstructions in Implementing One Nation One election in India :-  

The Indian constitution has a quasi-federal setup. There are separate elections held in the nation for electing the members of Lok Sabha and State Legislatures. Thus the elections are conducted at different time intervals whenever the tenure of 5 years gets completed. There are several challenges that act as a hindrance in execution of the concept of one nation, one election. The implementation of simultaneous election will need the extension or reduction of tenure so that their election dates match with the proposed date and this is against federalism. This would not be possible without making amendments in the constitutional laws. Moreover the support of every citizen and political parties is needed for successful implementation of this policy in the nation.

Countries of World Practicing One nation One Election :- 

There is a system of simultaneous elections in the United States. The country holds the elections on a fixed date. The money there is utilized in the development work in the nation instead of being wasted on conducting the frequent elections. This is best represented by the development of the nation in different sectors. Sweden, Spain, Hungary, Belgium, Poland, Slovenia, Albania, South Africa, Germany, etc. are the other countries in the nation that support and practice the system of one nation one election.

Conclusion :- One nation ,one election is a very good and economical concept. The execution of the concept of one nation, one election in India is not very easy as it requires several changes in constitutional structure. It cannot run smoothly without amendments in constitutional law. The other way to carry out this process is by getting the consent and support of the political parties. The attention and working on development work and other crucial issues would be more effective if this concept is successfully executed in the future.