{"id":29698,"date":"2024-09-19T19:16:59","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T13:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=29698"},"modified":"2024-09-19T19:17:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T13:47:00","slug":"union-cabinet-approved-one-nation-one-poll-proposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/19-09-2024\/union-cabinet-approved-one-nation-one-poll-proposal","title":{"rendered":"Union Cabinet Approved One Nation, One Poll Proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Polity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Union Cabinet unanimously approved the <strong>&#8216;one nation, one election&#8217;<\/strong> proposal, paving the way for <strong>simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha, state Assembly and local bodies.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Union Cabinet has accepted the recommendations of the High-Level Committee on One Nation, One Election (ONOE), chaired by <strong>former President Ram Nath Kovind.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Committee has recommended <strong>a two-phase approach.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The first phase involves holding Lok Sabha and Assembly elections simultaneously, while the second phase proposes conducting local body elections within 100 days of the general elections.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Cabinet also recommended <strong>creating a common electoral roll<\/strong> for all elections and setting up an implementation group to oversee detailed nationwide discussions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It has recommended <strong>18 constitutional amendments,<\/strong> most of which will not need ratification by state assemblies. However, these would require certain Constitution amendment bills that would have to be passed by Parliament.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Bill is likely to be introduced in the <strong>Parliament in the upcoming winter session.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are Simultaneous Elections?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Simultaneous Elections<\/strong> (One Nation One Election) refer to the idea of holding Lok Sabha and State legislative assembly elections<strong> together<\/strong>, with the aim of <strong>reducing the frequency of elections and their associated costs.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Simultaneous elections in India to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies were held in the years <strong>1951-52, 1957, 1962 and 1967.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Thereafter, the schedule could not be maintained and the elections to the Lok Sabha and the State legislative assembly have still not been realigned.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Arguments In Favour of One Nation One Election<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Reduced Expenditure:<\/strong> It will <strong>reduce the huge expenditure<\/strong> incurred for conducting separate elections every year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Streamlined Process: <\/strong>Managing one election cycle is logistically simpler than conducting multiple elections at different times. This can lead to more efficient use of administrative resources.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The problem of frequent elections leads to<strong> imposition of Model Code of Conduct (MCC)<\/strong> over prolonged periods of time which affects the normal governance. Simultaneous elections can overcome such issues.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>focus on governance<\/strong> will increase, instead of being constantly in election mode.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Direct Accountability:<\/strong> With simultaneous elections, voters can hold parties accountable for both central and state governance at the same time, making it clearer how local and national policies impact their lives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Arguments Against One Nation One Election<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Logistical Challenges:<\/strong> All states and the central government face massive <strong>logistical challenges<\/strong> including coordinating the schedules, resources etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Local Priorities:<\/strong> It may <strong>help the dominant national party<\/strong> at the cost of regional parties and regions issues can be overshadowed by the national issues.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Complex Reforms Needed:<\/strong> Implementing simultaneous elections would require significant constitutional amendments and changes to existing electoral laws, posing legal complexities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Synchronized polls for all 3 tiers of government <strong>will improve governance architecture<\/strong>. It will enhance <strong>\u201ctransparency, inclusivity, ease and confidence of voters.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Separately, the <strong>law commission<\/strong> is also likely to come up soon with its own report on simultaneous elections.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The law commission is <strong>likely to recommend holding simultaneous polls<\/strong> for all three tiers of the government \u2013 the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies like municipalities and panchayats \u2013 starting 2029.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/opinion\/columns\/manoj-jha-writes-one-nation-one-election-undermines-voter-indian-democracy-9574798\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Union Cabinet unanimously approved the &#8216;one nation, one election&#8217; proposal, paving the way for simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha, state Assembly and local bodies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29698"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29699,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29698\/revisions\/29699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}