What is One Nation One Election, How Does it Work, Advantages & Disadvantages

The idea of One Nation One Election means having simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and all the state assemblies in the country. This means elections for the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies will be done simultaneouly and the voting will take place concurrently.

However, in India, the general elections to elect the members of state assembly polls and Parliament are held separately when the incumbent government’s tenure ends or gets dissolved for some reason.

Thus, the government proposed a One Nation One Election in India and constituted a committee headed by the former President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, to explore the possibility of the concept of One Nation One Election. 

What is One Nation One Election?

Simultaneous Elections, popularly known as One Nation One Election, mean holding elections for all the State Legislative Assemblies, House of the People, and local bodies (Municipalities and Panchayats) simultaneously throughout the country. 

Elections to the Legislative Assemblies of States and House of the People were held simultaneously in India from 1951-52 to 1967. This cycle broke, and currently, elections are held every year and sometimes even within a year at different times, which results in massive government expenditures, diversion of security forces and electoral officers engaged in elections from their primary duties for prolonged periods, disruption in developmental work due to the application of the Model Code of Conduct, etc.

Thus, the Law Commission of India observed in its 170th Report on Reforms of the Electoral Laws that the government should consider the situation where the Lok Sabha and all the Legislative Assemblies elections are held at once, i.e. One Nation One Election. 

Under the One Nation One Election, elections will be held only once every five years for both the Lok Sabha and all the Legislative Assemblies throughout the country.

How can One Nation One Election work?

The first step in making One Nation One Election work is to conduct simultaneous elections for the State Legislative Assemblies and the House of the People. For this, there is no requirement for the ratification by the states of constitutional amendments. 

The second step will be to synchronise elections of the Panchayats and Municipalities with the State Legislative Assemblies and the House of the People in such a way that Panchayats and Municipalities elections are held within 100 days of holding elections to the House of the People and the State Legislative Assemblies. For this to happen, not less than one-half of the States have to do ratification. 

Challenges to One Nation One Election

There are several challenges in implementing the One Nation One Election in India. Challenges may arise in syncing and shuffling electoral cycles, constraints in financial, logistical, conceptual, legal and constitutional aspects, considering the size of the country and the vast cultural and topographical differences between regions. 

It is not possible to implement One Nation One Election in India without an amendment to the Constitution, and this amendment should be ratified by the governments of all states and union territories, possibly even major political parties. 

The biggest challenge of One Nation One Election is syncing the terms of the different state legislative assemblies with those of Lok Sabha.

Another big challenge arises when a state or even the central government fails a no-confidence motion or is dissolved before its term ends. In such a situation, it is not possible to ask all other states to hold fresh elections.

Benefits of One Nation One Election

• Simultaneous Elections ensure convenience and ease for voters, avoid voter fatigue, and facilitate a higher voter turnout. 
• One Nation One Election would bring about greater certainty in policies. Frequent elections create an environment of uncertainty and these can affect policy decisions.
• Synchronising elections would result in higher economic stability and growth, enabling businesses to make decisions without fear of adverse policy changes. 
• When elections are conducted at all three tiers of the government together, it will avoid disruption of production and supply chain cycles since it will prevent migrant workers from seeking leave of absence to cast their vote. 
• One Nation One Election prevents policy paralysis and enhances focus on governance.
• Simultaneous Elections would reduce the government exchequer’s financial burden as it avoids duplication of expenditure on intermittent elections. 
• Implementing One Nation One Election would result in optimised use of scarce resources, increased capital investment and asset creation. 
• The One Nation One Election synchronises electoral calendars, which would ensure the availability of more time for governance and unhindered public service delivery to citizens. 
• One Nation One Election would reduce election-related disputes and offences, thus reducing the burden on courts. 
• One Nation One Election would avoid duplication of efforts and save time and energy of political workers, government officials and security forces. 
• One Nation One Election would mitigate social disharmony and conflict often observed during elections since elections are held once every five years.

Disadvantages of One Nation One Election

• In situations like midterm polls or the President’s rule, if a party fails to get a majority, there is no clarity on how to deal with it when the One Nation One Election concept is implemented. 
• Conducting Simultaneous Elections may hamper the prospects of regional political parties since they may not be able to highlight local issues prominently. They may not be able to compete with national parties in terms of money and election strategies.
• The One Nation One Election can only be implemented after making changes in the Constitution and following other legal frameworks. To implement One Nation One Election a constitutional amendment is needed and it must be ratified by the state assemblies. 
• In the One Nation One Election, regional issues may be overshadowed by national issues, affecting the state-level electoral outcome. 
• Regional political parties have limited resources, which means they may not be able to highlight local issues to voters in the face of better-funded parties campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections.

The One Nation One Election is a concept in which simultaneous elections are conducted for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies throughout the country. Here, elections of the Panchayats and Municipalities are synchronised with the State Legislative Assemblies, and voting occurs concurrently.