One nation-no election, dictatorship & death of federalism’ – oppn parties decry simultaneous polls

“The prime minister’s objective is very clear. He is going around asking for a clear majority, two-thirds majority, 400 seats and the cat is out of the bag. They want to completely dismantle Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution, with what objective? One nation, no election – that’s what they want,” Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh

the media.
According to the report submitted by the panel Thursday, it had approached 62 political parties for their opinion on simultaneous polls and 47 had responded. As many as 32 parties were in support of the proposal, while 15 were against it.

Apart from the Congress, its ally in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena (UBT), too came out strongly against the proposal in a rally in Guhagar in Ratnagiri district. Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray asserted that the “one nation, one election” concept was a move towards dictatorship.

In the south, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, whose party has opposed the proposal and met the committee last month, termed the proposal a “death knell for Indian federalism”.

“Frequent elections keep governments on their toes. There are many constitutional issues with ‘one nation, one election’, but the worst is that governments will no more have to worry about people’s fury for five years,” the Hyderabad MP

on social media, adding: “It (the move) will convert India into a one-party state.”
SP leader Fakhrul Hasan Chand told the media that “in a country like ours, ‘one nation, one election’ seems impossible”.

The panel’s report has said that parties supporting the proposal have advocated for simultaneous polls for “saving scarce resources, protecting social harmony, and stimulating economic development”.

On the other hand, those who are opposed to the idea have raised apprehensions that “its adoption could violate the basic structure of the Constitution, be anti-democratic and anti-federal, marginalise regional parties, encourage the dominance of national parties, and result in a presidential form of government”.

Apart from the Congress, the proposal has been opposed by three national parties, including the AAP, CPI(M) and the BSP. The BJP and NPP are the two national parties among the 32 in support of the idea.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)

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