‘One nation, one election’: 32 parties supported the proposal, while 15 opposed

New Delhi: During the consultation process on ‘one nation, one election’, 32 political parties supported the idea while 15 did not, according to former president Ram Nath Kovind, who headed a high-level committee that studied the proposal.

Delivering the 7th Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Lecture on Simultaneous Elections on October 5, Kovind had said that many among these 15 parties supported simultaneous elections at some point in the past.

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved Bills to implement ‘one nation, one election’, and the draft legislations are likely to be introduced in the Parliament in the ongoing Winter session.

“During our consultation process, 47 political parties presented their views to the Committee. 32 out of these 47 parties supported the idea of simultaneous elections. 15 parties did not. However, many among these 15 parties have supported simultaneous elections in the past, at one time or another,” Kovind had said.

Among the national parties, the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) opposed the proposal, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the National People’s Party (NPP) supported it. The panel headed by Kovind submitted its report to the President in March.

“Responses were received from 47 political parties. Barring 15 political parties, the remaining 32 political parties not only favoured the system of simultaneous elections, but also advocated its adoption for saving scarce resources, protecting social harmony, and stimulating economic development,” the report said.

“Those who opposed simultaneous elections 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,” it added.

According to the report, the Congress, the AAP and the CPI(M) rejected the proposal, saying it undermines democracy and the basic structure of the Constitution. The BSP did not explicitly oppose it, but highlighted concerns regarding the large territorial extent and population of the country, which could make its implementation challenging.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) said if simultaneous elections are implemented, state-level parties will not be able to compete with national parties as far as electoral strategy and expenditure are concerned, leading to an increased discord between these two sets of parties.

Among the state parties, the AIUDF, the Trinamool Congress, the AIMIM, the CPI, the DMK, the Naga People’s Front, and the SP opposed

the proposal.