According to a survey by Network18, most people believe that conducting Lok Sabha and state elections on the same day will not lead to confusion among voters.
The survey "News18 Pulse: One Nation, One Election" found that nearly 56% of respondents believed simultaneous elections would not confuse voters, while over 36% thought it would create confusion. Around 8% were unsure.
The One Nation, One Election proposal aims to synchronise elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
The survey also revealed that 8 out of 10 respondents supported the concept of "One Nation, One Election" (ONOE), suggesting strong backing for the proposal put forward by the Centre.
One of the main criticisms raised in the ongoing ONOE debate was the potential confusion voters might face when casting ballots for both national and state elections on the same day.
Former Prime Minister and JD(S) leader H.D. Deve Gowda stated that holding simultaneous elections would lead to confusion among voters. "I have my own apprehensions about it. I feel we are not so advanced," he had said earlier.
A Network18 survey reveals that most people are confident that simultaneous elections will not be confusing, with nearly 50% stating they won't face difficulties in distinguishing between candidates and parties at both national and state levels.
Over 72% of respondents believe that holding all elections on the same day would boost voter turnout across the country. Additionally, 71.6% of participants feel that simultaneous elections could help align national and regional issues, leading to more informed policy decisions.
The survey was conducted by Network18 across 29 states and Union Territories of India, with a sample size of 4,573 people. Of these, 73.7% were male, and 26.3% were female, with nearly two-thirds of respondents hailing from urban areas.
Furthermore, 80.8% of respondents agreed that fewer elections would minimize disruptions to daily life, such as traffic jams, school closures, and other issues caused by rallies and campaigns.
The bills titled ‘The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024’ and ‘The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024’ were presented in Parliament after intense debate between the Treasury and Opposition. The bills were passed with 269 votes in favor and 198 against, and were subsequently sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
The inaugural meeting of the 39-member JPC on ‘One Nation, One Election’ is scheduled for January 8.
Understanding One Nation, One Election
India's democracy functions at various levels, each with its own election cycle.
There are general elections to select parliament members, state elections to choose legislators, and separate elections for rural and urban councils for local governance. By-elections are held to fill vacancies resulting from resignation, death, or disqualification of representatives.
These elections take place every five years, but at different intervals. The government now aims to align them.
In March, a committee led by Kovind recommended holding state and general elections together in its comprehensive 18,626-page report. It also proposed local body elections within 100 days.
The committee suggested that if a government loses an election, fresh polls would be conducted, but its tenure would only last until the next synchronized elections.
Though this may seem significant, simultaneous elections aren't new to India. They were the norm from the first election in 1951 until 1967 when political upheavals and early dissolutions of state assemblies led to staggered elections.
Efforts to revive this system have been discussed for decades, with proposals from the Election Commission in 1983, the Law Commission in 1999, and Niti Aayog, a government think tank, in 2017.
Key Challenges in Implementing This Proposal
Implementing simultaneous elections requires formal changes or revisions to certain provisions (or articles) of the Constitution, the country's supreme law. Some of these changes would need to be ratified by at least half of India's 28 state assemblies.
Although the BJP-led alliance holds a simple majority in parliament, it does not have the two-thirds majority required for such amendments.
The Kovind committee reviewed models from countries like South Africa, Sweden, and Indonesia, suggesting their best practices for India.
In September, the cabinet approved the proposal for simultaneous elections and supported two bills promoting the system, which were introduced in parliament on Thursday by Federal Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.
One bill seeks a constitutional amendment to allow joint federal and state elections, while the other aims to synchronize assembly elections in Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu & Kashmir with the general election schedule.
The government has stated that it is open to referring the bills to a parliamentary committee and consulting political parties to build consensus.
(This Article was originally published by Money Control and BBC)
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