Cabinet approval for the draft legislation on the One Nation, One Election endeavour of the Narendra Modi government clears the prolonged uncertainty about the ambitious plan to streamline the nation’s election process in a unified manner. The idea advanced by Prime Minister Modi shortly after he took office in 2014 did not progress in the normal course. However, with the BJP having made a commitment to implement this plan and the government having formed a high-level panel headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind in March last, the ball was set rolling. The painstaking exercise by the panel lasting over 190 days formed the basis for the draft bill now approved by the Union Cabinet. It is understood that all elections from the Lok Sabha polls to Panchayat polls, majorly including the assembly polls too, will be held in one single go.
The gargantuan task requires fool-proof logistical arrangements, no doubt, but a worry therein is in the idea to hold the first such polls ten years later – after one more General Elections and a full term for the next elected government at the Centre. This looks strange. Granted that the Modi government set the ball rolling and it is likely to obtain the parliamentary nod during the present session itself, there’s no guarantee that the same political formation would win the next polls to carry this exercise forward. For instance, if the Congress-led UPA takes charge, or some other motley alliance of regional chieftains grabs power at the Centre, they might even show a proclivity to dump the initiative. Some regional satraps have already opposed the move. The Congress party itself might not be enthused at the prospect of simultaneous polls.
The main justification advanced by the government in delaying the onset of the One Nation One Election process is the “difficulty” in arranging the manufacture and supply of “as many EVMs” as are required for the wholesome exercise in a matter of a few years. Admittedly, we as a nation are like a slow-moving coach. The leaders elected into office – the run-of-the-mill politicians – are a set of lazy bums. The bureaucracy is lazier by their very conditioning. What can be done in an hour takes a minimum of a few weeks. This is evident even in the construction of a culvert on a busy road. What is possible in a week’s time takes a minimum of six months for the “planning, consultations” and execution. Bureaucratic red tape is the main curse of this nation. Chairs in government offices are deserted for much of the day. This retards progress in all fields. Curiously, again, the tabling of the bill in Parliament on Monday seems to have been postponed abruptly. The Winter Session ends in a matter of a few days.
