01. One Nation One Election - A Bane or Boon?
What is your Opinion : Yes or No?
Why is it so? = Pick Pointers for your arguments
| Boon | Bane |
|---|---|
| Saves Money : Expenditure - For 2019 General election alone cost 55,000 Cr - Economic burden on country | Compressing all elections into one = Changing a course of a river |
| More focus on governance and development as governance obstructed for less time as MCC in force for lesser time. Presently PM, CMs, cabinet Ministers always in campaign mode. Administrative machinery also presently wasted. With ONOE - can correct that | Logistics - more resources required at once - EVM (3x required), security forces and officials. |
| Less Burden on Security forces and poll officials as they will need mobilization only once. These officials have to leave their main duty multiple times in present system. Affects children’s school. Common voter list can be used. | What happens if Hung assemblies / ousted govts.? All assemblies barring Kerala in 1950s completed full terms before 1967 and same party was at centre and state till such time. But 1967 onwards coalition / unstable governments came - defections began = state govts. fell more frequently = fresh elections. So, what if govt falls - president rule for 4.5 years if fall in 6 months? Answer is instability - assembly dissolved = within 6 month elections required. |
| Exceptions 2019 Odisha elections - Navin Patnaik won but BJP won 8 seats out of 20 LS seats. Voter education essential | National Issues may dominate local / regional issues. Unfair to smaller and regional parties - influence of big leader - Nehru or Modi. Regional parties are very strong in south and east. |
| Ideal arrangement : Pre-1967 also we had for 16 years for first four general elections after constitution - Broken due to instability in state govts in 1968-69. Also, minority governments at centre came in which fell. ECI in 1983 asked for ONOE for centre and state. Law Commission’s 170th report recommended ONOE in 1999. 2015 a Committee recommended ONOE 2018 Law Commission draft recommended ONOE and highlighted constituional amendments required - Article 83, 85, 172, 174, Article 356 - 2/3rd majority required - To prepone and postpone state elections | 95% of anonymous electoral bonds from corporates with a single party |
| Germany, Hungary, Spain, Poland, Indonesia, Phillipines, Slovenia, Albania, Nepal, Belgium (PR system), Sweden (PR system incl. for municipalities and that too in a single day), Brazil & S. Africa have simultaneous elections. To some extent USA also has for Presidential and House elections | We follow FPTP. While in USA there are only 2 parties, in India we have 6 national parties, 54 state parties and more than 2000 unrecognized ones. |
Some Additional Data Points You should know for opinion building :
First Election in 1952 : ECI spent INR 10.5 Cr 2014 Election : ECI spent INR 5000 Cr 2019 Election : Political parties spent INR 55000 Cr - Highest around the world - Higher than USA Presidential elections UAF > 21 years since first election in India. In 1989, it was made 18 years by 61st CAA.
Refer our monthly booklets and add more muscle to your arguments & freeze an introduction & conclusion : Hyperlink to be provided
Discuss within your study circle and at our blog : Write Answers and Peer Review them
Balanced Conclusion / Way Forward :
MCC has become juvenile. It was never meant to bring governance to standstill. Election process has to be shorter. A state has 5 to 6 phases for paramilitary forces etc. State elections should be done in a day. Keeping EVM for days for counting is also outdated. Campaign finance reform required. Most political parties agree it should be done but disagree on how it should be done. There is only one way to do it i.e. through consensus. Committee has been constituted under Ex-President Kovind for constitutional amendments etc While population has risen, so has technology and resources and therefore, ONOE is a distinct reality.
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