The Modi Government seems to be moving towards the ‘one nation, one election’ concept

Seeking to restore the novelty of elections prevalent in India till 1967, the Modi government has taken up the cudgels to provide stability to Indian polity by reintroducing the concept of “one nation, one election.” The idea is not new; it has been around. Also, it is both logical and convenient to have simultaneous state and general elections as it would save time and resources and spare the nation of frequent elections costing thousands of crores of exchequer’s money. Till 1967, when Indian politics was dominated by Congress and it had governments in states as well as the Centre, the system worked well. But this ended after some state assemblies were dissolved prematurely in 1968-69. Thereafter, it almost became a norm. As the Congress dominance waned and several Opposition party governments took the oath of office, things became rather complicated as many state governments were dismissed before completing their terms and so state elections got out of sync with the general elections. The dismissal of the state governments and the coalition governments at the Centre has indeed led to rather unstable governments which are prone to collapse before completing their stipulated five years. How far would the move achieve its purpose will depend on how it is done in the first place. However, speculation is that the Centre is set to introduce a Bill to this effect in the special session of Parliament, which has taken everyone by surprise. The possibility of “one nation, one election” policy, or simultaneous nationwide polls, will be examined by a committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind.

But the road to “one nation, one election” would not be easy; it will need to cross at least five roadblocks of constitutional amendments — Article 83 (2), which says the Lok Sabha's term should not exceed five years but it may be dissolved sooner; Article 85 (2) (B) which is that dissolution ends the very life of an existing House and a new House is constituted after general elections; Article 172 (1) says a state assembly, unless sooner dissolved, shall continue for five years; and, of course, Article 174 (2) (B) which empowers Governor to dissolve the assembly on the aid and advice of the cabinet. The Governor has discretion when the advice comes from a Chief Minister whose majority is in doubt and Article 356 (Imposition of President's Rule in states). For a constitutional amendment, two-thirds members of the House must vote. A consensus of all political parties and state governments is needed. After the constitutional amendment Bill is passed in Parliament, it needs to be ratified by half of the states through resolutions in their assemblies. Besides, huge resources will be needed to implement it. This would include over 25 lakh EVMs and a similar number of VVPATs, almost double the current number, to conduct the polls. The idea has worked well in the UK and several other western countries but will it work in a large country like India is the question.