Rubber-stamped, as expected

It is not surprising that the Ram Nath Kovind panel, appointed by the Narendra Modi government, has submitted a plan for simultaneous elections for all three tiers of government. The panel was in fact expected to provide the justification for and prescribe the methods and procedures for implementation of the idea, and not to objectively examine it. Former President Kovind’s name was meant to give authority and respectability to the recommendations. The panel has done its work in quick time. It has proposed that simultaneous elections be held to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies and polls to local bodies be held within 100 days of these. It has also recommended a common electoral roll and photo identity card for use in all three tiers. The committee has said that it has considered suggestions and comments from political parties and all other interested persons and groups and that the majority opinion and its own view supported the idea of “one nation, one election”. 

The panel’s reasons for abandoning the present system and adopting the idea of simultaneous polls are not convincing. It says that “separate elections cause a waste of resources, result in policy paralysis and inflict huge socio-economic costs, besides leading to voter fatigue”. These arguments are repetitions of the arguments presented by the government and supporters of the idea. There does not seem to have been any serious study of the proposal or an evaluation of the criticism and alternative proposals that it came across as part of its consultations. The panel was told that simultaneous elections would diminish the efficacy of local governance institutions. It was told to consider the merits of State funding of elections. An important point made by former Delhi High Court Chief Justice A P Shah was that “simultaneous elections hinder political accountability as fixed terms offer representatives unwarranted stability without performance scrutiny.” The panel dismissed all apprehensions about the idea as “misplaced”. 

But the questions about the proposal, including apprehensions, criticism and opposition, have not been answered by the Kovind panel, the government, or supporters of the idea. Elections for the Lok Sabha, state Assemblies and local self-government bodies are fought on different issues, but simultaneous elections will obliterate those differences. National parties, and the ruling party at the Centre, will have an unfair advantage over other parties. The panel says the voters are “sagacious enough to differentiate between national and regional issues”, but the matter cannot be dismissed like that. The idea of simultaneous elections is against the federal idea, which is integral to the Constitution. It will be wrong and unwise on the part of the government to proceed with it, ignoring all criticism and reservations.