Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that his government is committed to ‘one nation, one election’ and that it will benefit the country.
In an interview with ANI, Modi also said that many people have come on board with the scheme. The interview comes just days ahead of the first round of voting in the seven-phase 2024 Lok Sabha elections on April 19.
The ‘one nation, one election’ refers to the idea of conducting elections in Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and local bodies at the same time. The Modi government had set up a committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to look into the matter. The committee submitted the report on March 14.
Modi said, “One nation, One election is our commitment. We have talked about this in parliament as well. We have also formed a committee. The committee has also submitted its report. So in terms of One nation, One election, many people have come on-board in the country. Many people have given their suggestions to the committee. The committee received very positive and innovative suggestions and the country will benefit a lot if we are able to implement this report.”
In its manifesto, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promised to implement the ‘one nation, one election’ scheme.
“We have set up a High Powered Committee to examine the issues of conducting simultaneous elections and will work towards the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee,” said the BJP in the manifesto.
In its report running into more than 18,000 pages, the Kovind-headed panel recommended that, in the first step, the Lok Sabha elections and state assembly polls could be held together. This may be followed with urban and rural local body elections within 100 days to synchronise the three tiers of the government.
In case a trust vote leads to the collapse of a state government, fresh elections may be held for the remainder of the house’s five-year term, according to the committee’s recommendations.
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