SIMULTANEOUS ELECTIONS IN INDIA: ONE NATION, ONE ELECTION
The historicity of India’s democracy reminds us that
the idea of simultaneous elections in the subcontinent is never an alien
phenomenon. In a nutshell, Simultaneous Elections stands to uphold the idea of
structuring the Indian political election system in the mannerism that
elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies are synchronized together
in an attempt to, primarily, achieve a synergy of resources in the country. A
cordial trace in the progression of our democracy indicates that until 1967,
India had had simultaneous elections clearly upholding the very conception of
One Nation One Election. However, just like any other political progressive
demands, prone to changes in political, social and ideological conceptions,
India deviated away from this notion and adopted the now divisive and staggered
election format. This was also due to
the premature dissolution of some state assemblies such as in Kerala, Punjab
and also Bihar which greatly disrupted the election circle in the country. Today,
the Indian polity is perennially in election fashion that on average, up to 5-7
Assembly elections occurs yearly across the country - extremely laborious! Therefore,
in this Article, we shall delve deep into understanding the very intricacies of
simultaneous elections, the pros and cons as well as the way forward in
enforcing this pedagogy. We shall also spell out the future prospects should
this approach be revived in India.
The Notion of Simultaneous Election:
One Nation One Election.
As
thoroughly introduced earlier, Simultaneous election is a political approach
that entails the idea that elections both at the Lok Sabha, the state
Assemblies as well as at the local bodies be conducted in synchrony: at the
same time or during a specified time duration. It is pertinent to note that
this, at the wake of India’s post-independence strides towards upholding the
principles of democracy, has been the norm for conducting elections for up to
three consecutive general elections. Put simply, it was the immediate yardstick
to lean on for the then desperate and thirsty Indians for the Swaraj. Accordingly, this approach aimed at streamlining the electoral process, cost
reduction, and ensuring synchronized governance cycles across India. In the
recent years, concerns have been raised in reviving this “once a quench of
thirst for democracy” at the national level besides the persuasive
international encounters with foreign countries harvesting the benefits of what
has become the basis of India’s political debate.
- a)
Domestic
strides towards Simultaneous Elections in India
In
a momentous statement delivered by our former President, H.E Pranab Mukherjee,
he vividly pointed out that “With some election or the other throughout the
year, normal activities of the government come to a standstill because of the
code of conducts.” This shows nothing less than the strong desire to revive the
Indian election approach yet again. Several other stakeholders, including H.E
Narendra Modi, the honorable Prime Minister of India among others who have
stood steadfast in pointing out and leading the demand for Simultaneous
elections in this country.
As
early as 1983, the Election Commission in its Annual Report, made a vivid
suggestion that the system needed to be resuscitated so that elections to Lok
Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies be conducted simultaneously [Lok Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi, 2016]
and jointly at the interests of saving the country’s resources in all forms.
Furthermore,
The Law Commission of India headed by Honorable Justice B.P Jeevan Reddy
clearly stated out in the Commission’s 170th Report of May, 1999
that “We must go back to the situation where the elections to the Lok Sabha and
all the Legislative Assemblies are held at once.” Besides, in 2023, the Indian
government established a high-level committee headed by former President Ram
Nath Kovind to explore and find out the feasibility of simultaneous elections,
signaling interests at the side of the government.
In
a national level recommendatory research paper, the NITI Aayog in 2017 prescribed the
need to embrace the Simultaneous Election system in India, reiterating its
crucial benefits of saving the entirety of resources in the country including
costs and the focus of governance. Besides, this support for the idea came
after the 79th Report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee in 2015. These multiple
supports for the same approach is a revelation of the vast interests in
reshaping India’s political election structure to suit the modern day demands
of the people of India.
- b)
International
Experiences on Simultaneous Elections.
Today,
South Africa and Sweden are the major leading countries that have witnessed
successful operation of the Simultaneous Elections in their governance systems
[Source: Drishti]. While in South
Africa, elections for both national and provincial legislatures are conducted
simultaneous at the same time after five years and municipal elections
conducted two years later, Sweden conducts its election where the national
legislature as well as the local bodies or municipal Assemblies carryon on
their elections on a fixed date.
Arguments for Simultaneous Elections
in India
The
forefront argument for a Simultaneous Election [also known as One Nation One
Election] in India is deeply ingrained in the principle of efficiency and
cost-effectiveness. A Report by the Election Commission in 2019 stated that
general elections in India cost a whooping Rs. 60,000 crores. Proponents have
argued that the only cure for such excessive use of our rupees for elections is
the revival of simultaneous election in the country. This effort shall not only
lead to reduction in resource utilisation but also reservation of all other
resources such as time, man power and also improving the efficiency of
governance due to a pointed, uninterrupted and focused planning and execution
by the government. Besides, allowing state assemblies to conduct their
elections at different intervals would utterly subject the country into continuous
election mood and that recurring campaigns is a huge distraction in the affairs
of both the government and the body politics in focusing their targets in
engaging in productive activities of immense economic benefit for the nation.
Additionally,
engaging in fragmented election processes in the country is prone to diverting
the interests of political parties, creating conflict of interests between long
term developmental projects or short-term projects just to win elections. Research
has shown that holding separate elections for the national and state assemblies
offers the preference to short-term goals at the interests of populism for
political parties that can easily make them win elections in the very near
future [Source: Dibek Debroy &
Kishore Desai]. This is because engaging in long-term goals that would
otherwise serve a crucial national economic interest turns to be unpredictable
with the fear of losing elections that is being held more frequently.
Proponents thereby argued that, to eliminate this intentional compromise of the
capabilities of the parties, the already proven, tested and credible mechanism
is necessary; holding a synchronized election by means of simultaneous election
in the country.
Another
pivotal argument is that holding simultaneous election increases citizen
participation [Kishore Desai, 2020]. Our
practical experience as voters in this country has shown that continuously
subjecting the voters in election mood does nothing but makes the process
monotonous. Engaging the voters distinctively but at crucial moments at the
ends of terms of governance increases their excitements and momentum making the
election process lively. This is also because simultaneous elections in other
countries such as the United States of America [as in the ongoing election
process] has always shown inclusively higher citizen participation with vigor.
Arguments
against Simultaneous Elections
While
simultaneous election is the long-term vision for India, it is not without
criticisms. Critics have argued that reviving this approach to election would
inherently undermine the core idea of federalism and disregard the state
autonomy. It has been argued that this process shall, inter alia, sabotage the constitutional provisions in Articles 83,
85, 172 and 356 entirely leading to coalescence of India’s political discourse.
Though these concerns are valid, thoughtful changes in the constitution and proper
planning by the government would solve them. Proper structuring of election
campaigns shall agreeably lead to the fulfilment of this age-old adage “think
locally, act globally” - embracing the local challenges to give effect to the
national assembly. Besides, such other “easily manageable” challenges at the
national level such as logistic hardships, increased burden on the election
commission, and the impacts on Regional Parties can be addressed by pro-active
political restructuring in the country.
Conclusion
The
quest for the revival of “One Nation One Election” in India is not just a
political debate but rather a visionary effort to reclaim the homogenous
national efficiency and cost-effectiveness of governance which was once a political
refuge for the Young India. Every country’s aspiration is minimizing resource
utilization while maximizing the utmost output and that Simultaneous Election
has proved to be India’s yardstick to attain that aspiration. Simultaneous
Election promises a robust high-level long-term development in India and for
India.
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