Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Credit: PTI Photo
The government has again dusted off the idea of simultaneous elections for the whole country and mandated a committee to work on it. By setting up a high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind "to examine and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections” the government has made it clear that the idea is real and ready for implementation. Only the details have to be worked out, which a captive committee will deliver. It is unfortunate that a committee which does not have adequate political or geographical representation of the country has been tasked to decide on an electoral system that will totally change its politics, parliamentary and governance systems, and even the working of the Constitution. It is also unfortunate that a former President has lent his name to the exercise which may rubber stamp and legitimise a controversial and self-serving agenda of the government.
The ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal has been a pet idea of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It involves simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state Assemblies, and even the local bodies. In the past, a parliamentary committee, Niti Aayog and the Law Commission have studied the proposal and expressed different views on it. The reasons cited in support of the idea are the supposedly high cost of frequent elections, political instability caused by change of governments, governance issues or populist pressures caused by the operation of the model code of conduct. These are untenable reasons. In the first place, democracy is not a low-cost form of government. The money spent by the State on elections is only a fraction of the money misspent on other matters and what political parties and candidates spend on them. There is a very dangerous idea underlying these arguments. It is that elections are a problem and the government is more important. It is a wrong and undemocratic idea. Free and fair elections are essential and basic to democracy. The performance or stability of governments are not ends in themselves and are not essential features of democracy.
The ‘One Nation, One Election’ idea presents many constitutional, conceptual and practical problems. It is at odds with the federal system of government and reflects a unitary and presidential system which is at odds with the country’s political and social reality. It will disadvantage regional parties, which are an important part of the system, and favour dominant national parties. Election issues at lower levels may be drowned by a central narrative. There are questions like what happens when a government in a state or at the Centre falls. It also gives rise to the concern that the proposal is part of a plan to impose political uniformity and homogeneity on the country.