‘One nation one election’ against constitution: AAP to law panel

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which heads the central government, has been pushing for “one nation one election”.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has strongly opposed the idea of “one nation one election” (holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies), and argued that holding simultaneous elections will tinker with the basic structure of the Constitution, in as much as it will infringe democracy, free and fair elections, federalism, and the Parliamentary system, in a January 16 letter written by Pankaj Gupta, the party’s national secretary, to justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, chairperson, Law Commission of India.

Officials show EVMs and VVPATs to people in Kolkata. (File)

The AAP received a letter from the Law Commission on December 23, 2022, asking for its view on holding simultaneous polls. To be sure, the commission had asked all political parties to submit their opinions.

“On the question of curtailment and the extension of tenure of various state governments and legislatures, we note that this would directly violate the mandate granted by the people through the exercise of the vote. Even if it is argued that the same is a one-time measure, the forced simultaneity by ensuring that the five-year term of governments is completed brazenly violates the basic tenets of democracy, i.e. rule by elected representatives who are held accountable, as the citizens are denied their right to exercise the recurring power to elect whenever the elected legislature cannot provide a government that has the support of the majority,” the AAP wrote in its response.

A representative of Law Commission of India did not respond to requests for comment.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which heads the central government, has been pushing for “one nation one election”. The ministry of law and justice in December 2022 had informed the Rajya Sabha that simultaneous elections to the Parliament and legislative assemblies would result in “huge saving to the public exchequer, avoidance of replication of effort on part of administrative and law and order machinery in holding repeated elections and bring considerable savings to political parties and candidates in their election campaigns”.

“For reasons of expediency, logistics, finances and perceived politicking, the Law Commission must not denigrate the foundational sub-structure of our governance system, which seeks to hold accountable those in power,” the AAP said, arguing further that the citizens’ voting choices are largely influenced by parties likely to play a role in national politics and thus simultaneous elections may cause smaller regional parties to disappear, while the hegemony of the dominant national party would only increase. “If the proposal is adopted, it would detrimentally affect the choice made by the electorate by eclipsing state/regional agenda and creating biases in the minds of the people,” said the AAP.