NEW DELHI: In a significant turn of event, the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for what is widely known as “one nation, one election”.
This move aims to conduct the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections simultaneously. The central government believes that holding the assembly and parliamentary elections together will cut down expenses and reduce logistical hurdles in the polling process of the world’s largest democracy.
The decision follows months of scrutiny and comes after a high-level committee, chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind, submitted its report on the 'one nation, one election' plan.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed that the report was approved unanimously.
The report, which was presented before the Cabinet on Wednesday, provides a detailed plan for the implementation of simultaneous elections.
The panel had recommended holding concurrent elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies in the first phase, followed by synchronized local body polls within a period of 100 days.
The “one nation, one election” policy intends to streamline India's electoral process by getting rid of frequent elections which are conducted within a span of a few months at different tiers of governance.
As per sources, a bill pertaining to “one nation, one election”, also known as “one nation, one poll” (ONOP), will be introduced in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament.
Notably, PM Modi is also a strong advocate of this proposal. In his independence day speech earlier this year, Modi vouched for ONOP as he argued that frequent elections acted as an obstacle for the country’s progress.
Meanwhile, the opposition has slammed this move with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge vehemently raising objections to it.
“We don't stand with this. One Nation One Election cannot work in a democracy. Elections need to be held as and when required if we want our democracy to survive,” Kharge said.
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