Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his second innings in Parliament on an emphatic note virtually soothing down a weakened Opposition with words of comfort. On day one of the monsoon session, Modi reached out to the Oppostion benches. “The Opposition need not bother about their numbers. I hope they speak actively and participate in the House proceedings. Forget numbers, every word of yours is valuable,” said the prime minister. These words will only rub into the wounds of the Opposition after the recent Lok Sabha tussle. The fact that the Opposition delayed holding the customary strategy meet ahead of any session only goes to show the disconnect.
However, all eyes will now be focused on June 19 when an all-party meeting of leaders is called by the PM to deliberate on the proposal of ‘one nation, one election’. According to this concept all elections are to take place on the same day every five years. While those backing the theory argue that this will save a lot of public money, resources and time, in an era where money power plays a crucial part in elections, this could also help parties plan their finances better.
However, there are bigger issues that need to be handled. The consequences need to be assessed, especially by states with regional flavours. In some states, governments fail to complete their terms necessitating by-elections. In such cases, denying the people their basic rights of government by withholding elections till the ‘one election’ date arrives will be purely against democratic norms.
One nation, one election promises to be a massive exercise which entails deployment of security forces and government machinery across the nation. Given the current scenario where there are thousands of sensitive and hyper sensitive polling booths, there will be requirements of enhanced security. Can the government back the Election Commission with adequate cover all around? Moreover, the model code of conduct will be uniform across the nation, literally putting the entire country at a standstill in terms of developmental works. Can the entire nation be put in pause mode?
Also, the issues of each state are different from central ones. This new theory will help Central dominance over local issues raised at the assembly elections and the voices of regional outfits will be overshadowed. It means the regionalistic flavour in some states will be diluted by the national agenda giving the national parties a distinct advantage over the regional outfits.
In cases where there is a coalition government involved, the fine line between coalition dharma and political compulsions will be blurred. Take for example Goa which recently went into a simultaneous bypoll in four constituencies along with two Lok Sabha seats. One election would mean the political canvas will be a mix of complex rivalries, at times between the partners themselves.
The Modi government may have the numbers on its side, but with a complex theory like this, it will have a lot of explaining to do. Could this be a new game-changer in Indian politics?
