The much talked-about ‘One Nation, One Election’ may become a reality soon as the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will table the bill during its current tenure at the Centre, sources told India Today TV.
The report comes just before Prime Minister Narendra Modi will mark the first 100 days of his third consecutive term in office. PM Modi, who was sworn in on June 9, took the oath five days after the announcement of the Lok Sabha election results.
The One Nation One Election has been one of the BJP’s key promises in its Lok Sabha election manifesto. During his Independence Day speech at the Red Fort this year, the Prime Minister requested everyone to come together for the simultaneous poll legislation.
“I request everyone to come together to achieve the resolve of ‘One Nation One Election’, which is the need of the hour,” PM Modi had said.
Even while speaking exclusively to India Today TV before the Lok Sabha elections, PM Modi batted for shorter election cycles, saying that politics should not dominate the entirety of a five-year term.
“I always say that elections should be held only for three or four months. Politics should not be done for all five years,” the Prime Minister had said, adding that it would “save logistics expenditure”.
“We have set up a commission. The report of the commission has come. We are studying the report. After studying it, actionable points will come out of it. We have a commitment and the commitment is not only a political commitment. This is very important for the country,” he added.
A high-level committee, led by former President Ram Nath Kovind, proposed in March that simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies should be held as a first step. The panel further recommended that local body elections should follow within 100 days, ensuring a synchronised election cycle across the country.
The panel, however, did not specify any period for rolling out simultaneous polls.
Currently, elections for state assemblies and the Lok Sabha are conducted separately. They occur either after the five-year term of the existing government concludes or if the government is dissolved for various reasons.
