Modi pitches for “One Nation, One Election” to face the challenges of 21st century

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (November 26) again stressed on the “One Nation, One Election” formula to save time and money while accelerating the growth and development of the country.

Elections in India is one of the most arduous tasks that has been universally accepted. Even today historians are writing on how a newly independent India managed to hold free and fair elections back in 1951-52.

PM Modi said that “One Nation, One Election” is not only a matter of debate, but is also the need of the hour for India while addressing the concluding session of the 80th All India Presiding Officers Conference via video conferencing in Gujarat’s Kevadia on the occasion of the celebrations of Constitution Day.

In his speech Modi said, “Only one voter list should be used for Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha and other elections. Why are we wasting time and money on these lists? Friends, One Election isn’t just an issue of deliberation, but is also the need of the country. It hampers the developmental work and all of you know about it. We must think about it seriously and office-holders can lead deliberations on this.”

The Prime Minister was addressing the Officers on Constitution Day and said “I would urge you to take initiatives to make aspects of our Constitution more popular among our youth and that too, through innovative methods,” said the Prime Minister.

The idea “One Nation, One Election” was first mooted when Modi became Prime Minister in 2014 which triggered knee-jerk opposition from not just the political parties but also academicians, policy analysts and opinion makers. 

“One Nation, One Election” would lead to the reduction of cost to the exchequer and more importantlty give governments at the state and at the center more free time to implement welfare schemes.

However, the original idea for holding one election came from former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003, which the Congress President Sonia Gandhi did everything she could to divert. 

In his speech Modi took a swipe at the Congress for its delay tactics and sited the Sardar Sarovar dam project, which the Congress delayed for so long with no regrets.

Modi stressed on the “the importance of duties”, and said Gandhi was very keen on it as he saw a close link between rights and duties.

He said, “Our Constitution shows us the way to fight every challenge in the 21st century. Our Constitution is moving swiftly towards its 75th year. In such a scenario, we have to work in a planned way to turn processes in sync with the new decade.”