STATE OF STATES?

Is One Nation, One Election a threat to federalism? Will it have an impact on the power dynamics between the Centre and the states? Will it curtail the power of state assemblies and chief ministers?

- Abhik Bhattacharya

"India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States"

THESE meticulously chosen, well-debated words of Article 1 of the Constitution represent, in essence, the foundational value of Indian federalism. However, since independence, the principle of federalism, as enshrined in the words ‘Union of States’, has been challenged many times in favour of an aggressive integrationist approach. Though B R Ambedkar, the chairperson of the drafting committee, was cautious while replacing the word ‘Federation’ with ‘Union’ to invoke the ‘indestructible’ unity among differences and diversity, his next generation compatriots started looking for the elusive ‘oneness’.  

The journey of ‘oneness’ has been a long one—One Nation, One Tax, One Nation, One Ration Card, and the latest addition is One Nation, One Election (ONOE).  

On September 2, the government formed an eight-member high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to examine the legal and procedural feasibility of simultaneous elections. The opposition parties came down heavily on the more alleging dismantling of federal principles. While CPI leader D Raja questioned the government’s unilateral decision, Rahul Gandhi tweeted that the idea of ONOE is “an attack on the Union and all its states”. AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi termed it a “disaster for multiparty parliamentary democracy & federalism.”