Opposition calls ‘One Nation, One Election’ polls proposal impractical, ‘cheap stunt’

New Delhi: Opposition parties on Wednesday opposed the “one nation, one election” proposal as a report of a panel on simultaneous elections, headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind, was approved by the Union Cabinet.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said “one nation, one election” is not practical and alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes up with such things to divert attention from real issues when polls approach.

“It is not practical, it will not work. When elections come and they (BJP) do not get any issue to raise, they divert attention from real issues,” Kharge told a press conference here.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O’Brien called it a “cheap stunt” of the BJP and questioned why the Maharashtra polls were not announced with those in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir if the government wants simultaneous elections.

“One nation, one election is just another cheap stunt by the anti-democratic BJP. Why were the Maharashtra elections not announced along with the elections in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir?” he asked.

“The Maharashtra government announced the Ladki Bahin scheme in the Budget in June. The first tranche reached the bank accounts of women in August and the second tranche will reach the beneficiaries in October,” he said.

“You cannot do three states in one go and you talk about one nation, one election,” O’Brien said.

He also sought to know how many Constitution amendments and curtailments of the terms of state Assemblies would be required for the implementation of the proposal.

“And also tell us, how many Constitution amendments, including curtailing or extending terms of state Assemblies, will be done! Classic Modi-Shah jumla,” the TMC leader said in a statement.

He also took to X to share a letter written by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in January, opposing the proposal.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asadudin Owaisi said the proposed move will destroy federalism.

“I have consistently opposed One Nation One Election because it is a solution in search of a problem. It destroys federalism and compromises democracy, which are part of the basic structure of the Constitution,” he said in a post on X.

Owaisi said multiple elections are not a problem for anyone except Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah as they want to campaign in every election.

“Multiple elections aren’t a problem for anyone except Modi and Shah. Just because they have a compulsive need to campaign in even municipal and local body elections does not mean that we need simultaneous polls. Frequent and periodic elections improve democratic accountability,” the member of Parliament from Hyderabad said.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sandeep Pathak wondered how all elections would be held together when the Maharashtra polls could not be held with those in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.

“They were incapable of holding simultaneous polls in four states and managed to hold elections in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. My submission is that when they are unable to hold simultaneous polls in four states, how is one nation, one election even possible?” he asked.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Mahua Maji alleged that the BJP is pushing for simultaneous polls as it wants to be the only party to rule in India.

“The BJP has been trying this since long. It wants only one party to rule the country. Recently, it broke the NCP and the Shiv Sena while the BJD has nearly been wiped out in Odisha. Similarly, it is trying to destroy the JMM in Jharkhand and it will try to destroy the regional parties using one nation, one election,” she said.

Congress leader Harish Rawat said the BJP has realised that it is going to taste defeat in the ongoing and upcoming state polls, including in Maharashtra, and thus, is scared.

“The BJP has realised that it will be defeated in the elections in Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. After losing one state after another, the BJP is not in a position to sustain that pressure that would result in the collapse of their coalition government (at the Centre). That is why the ‘ghabrayi hui’ (worried) government has opted for the one nation, one election formula,” the former Uttarakhand chief minister said.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal for “one nation, one election” as recommended by the Kovind panel, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

The high-level committee has recommended simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies as the first step, followed by synchronised local body polls within 100 days.

The panel has also proposed the formation of an “Implementation Group” to look into the execution of the recommendations made by it.