'Don't look at 'one nation one election' as agenda of one person or party'

NITI Aayog VC to inaugurate Sangh Parivar-affiliated think tank's seminar on issue of simultaneous polls

At a NITI Aayog meeting with leading economists on January 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appealed for the need to build public opinion on the issue of simultaneous polls. On Saturday, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar will inaugurate a seminar on 'one nation one election' being hosted by a Sangh Parivar-affiliated think tank in Thane, Maharashtra.

Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, a think tank and training institute near Mumbai, will host a two-day seminar on the issue of 'one nation one election' over the weekend. "Simultaneous elections is the major democratic reform that the nation has waited for decades, and a nationwide discourse on the issue for consensus building is the need of the hour," Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha member and party vice-president, said. Sahasrabuddhe heads the think tank, and the Centre has recently appointed him as the president of the Indian Council of Cultural Research (ICCR).

The think tank is hosting the seminar in association with the Indian Council of Social Sciences and Research (ICSSR). Sahasrabuddhe said Modi and former president Pranab Mukherjee have been calling for a debate on the subject, as had senior BJP leader L K Advani.

"This should not be looked at as an agenda of a particular individual or political party, but viewed as an important reform," Sahasrabuddhe said. He said the think tank has invited all political parties to send their representatives. While Rajiv Kumar will inaugurate the seminar on Saturday, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will chair the closing round of discussions on Sunday. Others who have confirmed their participation are Janata Dal (United) national spokesperson K C Tyagi, Biju Janata Dal Lok Sabha member Baijayant Panda and former Lok Sabha secretary general and constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap.

The seminar will have discussions on the hazards of election multiplicity and simultaneous elections. This will be based on the concept, advisability and implementation-related issues; no-confidence and dissolution of Houses; the idea of aligning local body elections with Lok Sabha polls; and experiences across the world with simultaneous elections. 

As many as 72 research papers by academicians and experts will be presented. One of the discussion papers has suggested the German model where a no-confidence motion cannot be brought without a motion of confidence in an alternate leader.

Sahasrabuddhe said exploring the possibility of simultaneous elections remained a difficult yet probable solution to all the problematic issues that are the direct outcome of the multiplicity of elections. "This massive democratic reform would free the nation from permanent election mode and enhance the pace of good governance and development," he said, but conceded the reform would need several laws to be amended.

The issue of 'one nation one election' has been on the margins of political discourse, with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel and Public Grievances submitting its report on the subject in end 2015. However, most political parties had then expressed misgivings about its practicality. NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy had authored a paper on the subject, while the 137th report of the Law Commission had also broached the issue.