ONE ELECTION

 

 

 

 

TIME-LINE for the transformation may become a matter of discussion and even debate, but it cannot be denied that the nation is slowly but invariably headed in the direction of the concept of onenation-one-election. This can be surmised from the stray details that have come out in the open following the submission of the report of Ram Nath Kovind Committee, to President Mrs. Droupadi Murmu. The report may have suggested, as can be gleaned from different interpretations available in the market, that polls of the future could be headed for one common election. There is every reason to believe that the common Indian people will support the idea overwhelmingly and the concept may soon become a reality on the ground. For that day, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has been waiting. The object of the Government seeking this arrangement is to help the country to dedicate most of its resources to the cause of overall and inclusive development. There is a near-complete agreement on this issue within the Government. Many other intellectual circles, too, are supporting this.

 

All this boils down to one common comprehension -- that the people of India will soon start voting in common elections held simultaneously at the Centre and in the States -- unless some unforeseen circumstances force an early and untimely election. The most potent argument against hold in gstaggered elections without any common time-line was that the nation was all the time in the election mode. In other words, model code of conduct is always in operation in this or that part of the country.Tothat extent, theGovernment operates only tentatively in those times and in those areas since no fresh decisions can be taken to push development. And that may mean a staggered developmental trajectory -- which should be anathema to any dynamic, forward-moving society. In fact, when India started having elections post Independence, everything appeared smooth.Subsequently, however, different time-lines started surfacing -- to accommodate vagaries of numbers game in representative houses of different States. Such polls could at best be avoided for not more than six months. Thus, time-lines started getting distorted with every passing year. Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi was one of the early people who saw no sense in holding elections in a staggered manner -- only to accommodate political exigencies.

 

When he started airing these view in his speeches right in the first term as head of the Government, people realised that he is determined to bring about this reform -- of one-nationone-election.He took his own time to push the idea to some sensible expression. The committee headed by former President Mr.Ram Nath Kovind gave a good indication of the Government’s intentions on the issue. A very strong lobby supports the idea of one-nation-oneelection. There may be some to oppose the idea, but the overall national mood is in favour of common elections. Once the idea is accepted fully by the nation, the nation will be spared from a lot of hassles that can actually be resolved. The process of transforming may not get going on an immediate and urgent basis, but the fact that this may get accepted and implemented will generate much confidence in common people’smindsabout the effort of theGovernment to introduce straightforwardness in all processes. The concept of one-nation-one-election is to be looked at from all these angles. The Ram Nath Kovind Committee appears to have done a comprehensive job while submitting it report. It appears to be only a matter of time when the new arrangement is put in place officially.