The Modi Cabinet has supported the Indication for a ‘One Nation One Election,’ which is one of the monumental steps to synchronize the timings of the Lok Sabha election and the State Assembly election. This move is expected to solve some of the problems which are associated with the electoral process in India. The high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind submitted a detailed report on this particular scheme to the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.
The detailed report, which comprises 18,626 pages, was tabled before President Droupadi Murmu in March 2024. In its formulation, the committee had consultations with various parties with inputs from all the major institutions of political and societal reality. At the same time, more than 47 political parties submitted their opinions; 32 of them approved the approach towards holding simultaneous elections.
Besides political inputs, 21,558 public responses were received, out of which 80% were in favor of the proposal received in response to a public notice published in various newspapers. Legal professionals are also involved in the discussions, and this committee involved four former Chief Justices of India, twelve Major High Court Chief Justices, and four former chief election commissioners to obtain legal opinions on various impacts of this change.
There were also many analyses regarding economic concerns and the matters related to them. This has been analyzed by taking into consideration emergencies as electing the president in a staggered manner,” senior economists and major business organizations such as the CII, FICCI, and the ASSOCHAM have considered some of the potential economic effects of staggered elections.
The results that they provided expressed that the timing of the elections could increase inflationary pressures, slow down the growth of the economy, and destabilize public expenditures and social order. The holistic approach taken by the Modi cabinet, as reflected by the nature and the scope of the report, and the consultation process also bear testimony to the government’s serious intent to understand and grapple with the many realities of the Indian electoral system.
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