POLITICAL CONSENSUS NEEDED FOR IMPLEMENTING ONOE

The Opposition claims that this will require the dissolution of as many as 17 Assemblies, which is a huge number and will result in the wastage of resources spent to bring those governments in power. However, this one-time disruption may be needed to streamline the electoral process under ONOE.

- J OYEETA BASU

Now that the One Nation One Election bill—the 129th Amendment Bill to the Constitution—has been tabled in Parliament, it is time to give the proposal a serious look. It is sagacious to have sent the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, and give a deadline of 90 days to complete the discussions.

The plan to ensure that all elections, starting with the general and state Assembly elections, are held simultaneously, will be a game changer if implemented properly. It will ensure a reduction in poll expenditure as well as the elimination of any disruption in governance caused by the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct a month ahead of every election. For every government with a tenure of five years, almost half a year is wasted in preparing for elections, the time during which governance takes a hit, with officers often sitting on files and delaying decisions as they adopt a wait and watch policy until a new government is in place.

Additionally, too many elections take place in a year, which is best avoided. 2024 saw three major elections spread out for months—the Lok Sabha elections; Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir Assembly elections; and the Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections. The 2024 election cycle started soon after the elections of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in November-December 2023.