Between the introduction of the One Country-One Election Bill in the Lok Sabha and sending it to the JPC for deliberation, the government tried to clarify why there is a need to adopt this system. The government says that conducting simultaneous elections is not a new concept. This was the system in the country earlier. Not only this but by implementing it, there is every possibility of the country moving forward rapidly on the development path.
The government said that by conducting simultaneous elections, the government's focus will be on developmental activities and implementing policies that promote public welfare. Citing the findings of the committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, the statement said that due to being entangled in the election cycle from time to time in different parts of the country, political parties, their leaders, MLAs, and state and central governments often fail to give priority to governance-related work. All their attention is focused on preparations for the next election.
Continuity of governance will be promoted.
Conducting simultaneous elections promotes continuity of governance. The government considers it very important for accelerating development activities. It also said that the first general elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies were held simultaneously in 1951-52. This practice continued in 1957, 1962, and 1967. The cycle was disrupted in 1968 and 1969 due to the premature dissolution of some state assemblies. The fourth Lok Sabha was also dissolved prematurely in 1970, following which fresh elections were held in 1971.
The situation worsened after the Emergency.
The term of the fifth Lok Sabha was extended to 1977 under Article 352 due to the declaration of Emergency. Since then, the situation has deteriorated further and only a few Lok Sabhas have completed their five-year term, including the eighth, 10th, 14th, and 15th Lok Sabhas. The sixth, seventh, ninth, 11th, 12th, and 13th Lok Sabhas were dissolved prematurely. Similar disruptions have been seen in state assemblies in the last few years.
Political opportunities will increase, and regional parties will remain relevant.
The government's conclusion says that simultaneous elections will prove to be an opportunity booster for political parties and responsibilities can also be distributed fairly. This provides more scope for diversity and inclusiveness among political workers representing different parties. The statement also said that this arrangement will not reduce the role of regional parties. Rather, it will maintain their relevance by encouraging a more focused role at the local level. This arrangement creates a political environment in which local issues are not affected by national election campaigns, thus maintaining the relevance of those raising regional issues.
Better use of resources will be ensured.
Removing a large number of government officials and employees from their original responsibilities and deploying them on election duty is very important in terms of resource utilization. Resources will be used properly as there is no need for repeated deployment. This arrangement will also reduce the expenditure related to the deployment of manpower, equipment, and security resources during every election.
80% of people in favor of the proposal
The government said that the high-level committee received more than 21,500 responses from the public, of which 80% supported simultaneous elections. The highest number of responses came from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. 47 political parties presented their views on this subject before the committee. Of these, 32 supported holding simultaneous elections, citing benefits such as the best use of resources and social harmony.
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