Here comes 2019, and with it comes the most awaited event of Indian democracy: The General Elections. We can certainly say that this year’s elections are going to be a roller coaster ride for political enthusiasts and media channels. With the state divided on its own policies, it will be quite tough to predict the mood of the nation. Any kind of opinion poll is just an arrow shot in the dark or maybe Paul baba can help the news channels.
From now on, everything is going to be just about elections. Be it politicians pleading the voters, channels exposing the hatched conspiracy against leaders or citizens voicing their concerns, every kind of gimmick will be related to vote-play and political stunt.
In such a crucial time, the idea of simultaneous elections becomes a discussion of practicality. One of the most debated and contentious issues of last year’s parliament was the holding of elections of state and union at the same time. Even PM Modi presented his views in this regards, lending his authority to this significant issue. Before going directly to weigh the pros and cons of simultaneous elections, we need to see that it is not an alien or foreign concept to Indian politics. Before 1967, the elections in the nation were carried through this means only until late Prime minister Indira Gandhi dissolved the Lok Sabha before it’s tenure and called for fresh elections.
Since then, the timings of elections became a question of political heat. Now, the same question has come up again to the forefront due to the advent of elections. Now, after knowing the history of India’s elections, it’s safe to assess the positive and negatives of this idea.
Positives
As mooted by the Prime Minister himself, the elections in current trend disturb the normal functioning of the governance due to the ongoing implementation of Model code of conduct in elections to various offices. Developmental programmes get held up because of the conduct in force. It further requires a huge amount of state personnel, police security and teachers to manage the smooth conduct of the exercise, affecting their efficiency in discharging their own respective duties.
Because of continuous election fever running in the nation, political parties are only focused on their survival strength in different states. The sound respect to the development and welfare of citizens suffers a major setback. Therefore, the idea of holding elections simultaneously assumes significance. Even Justice BP Jeevan Reddy whoheaded Law Commission in its 170th report said that “we must go back to the situation where the elections to Lok Sabha and all the Legislative Assemblies are held at once.”
Negatives
First of all, holding simultaneous elections will require a huge amount of money from the exchequer and it may cost a burden on the state’s purse. As estimated by NITI Aayog paper, 2009 Lok Sabha elections had cost the exchequer about Rs 1,115 crore, and the 2014 elections, about Rs 3,870 crore. Election Commission of India, on its part, has estimated the cost of holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and State Assemblies at Rs. 4,500 crore.
Then going by the procedural hurdles, the idea requires amendment of the Constitution as well as Representation of People’s act, which is a cumbersome process in itself given the productivity of our beloved legislatures. Then, by chance, if a hung assembly gets formed at the center and states at the same time, the governance will be affected severely. Also, it is clear that the state elections and union elections are fought on different agendas. To club them in a single theme will be a gross injustice to the citizens’ aspirations from their government.
Way Forward
So we have seen the two sides of the coin, and it’s safe to say that the idea has both merits and demerits of its own. Therefore, the idea is worth trying but only if the existing maladies in election process get rectified first. The issues of corruption in election campaigning, insinuating voters on the identity card, malfunctioning EVM booths, wrong counting of votes, booth capturing need to be eliminated as soon as possible. Voters need to be educated about their voting rights and powers. Then the legal and technical framework to carry on this very idea needs to be processed through the consensus of different stakeholders.
Election Commission’s suggestions should be taken on prima facie as the guiding factor to this idea since they are the experts of their field. Any kind of populist step may disturb these sacred games of Indian democracy. And if things go wrong, we may end up like our neighboring nations (Maldives), always in political turmoil.