‘What’s in it for us?': Kejriwal's counter on one nation, one election; suggests equal education, healthcare instead

The Delhi CM questioned the rational behind the prospect of one nation, one election, and argued that this move won't prove helpful to common people.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday took a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government for considering the prospect of holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities and panchayats under the ‘one nation, one election’ drive. A high-level panel headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind has also been formalised to deliberate on the possibilities of implementing this drive.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (AAP)

Speaking at an event in Haryana, Kejriwal questioned the rationale behind the proposal of such move. He asked what would a common person get from ‘one nation, one election’. “Conduct hundred or thousand elections, what would we get?” he asked.

He further suggested equal education and healthcare for people across classes in the country. “What is important for the country? One Nation One Election or One Nation One Education (Rich or poor, equal good education for all) One Nation One Treatment (Rich or poor, equal treatment for all) What will the common man get from One Nation One Election?” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Earlier, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi slammed the Centre's move and said the concept of simultaneous elections across the country is equivalent to an ‘attack on the Indian union and all its states’. “INDIA, that is Bharat, is a union of states. The idea of ‘one nation, one election’ is an attack on the union and all its states,” he wrote on X.

An eight-member committee was formed on Saturday to examine and make recommendations on the prospect of holding simultaneous elections. The panel was constituted days after the Centre announced a special session of the Parliament from September 18 to 22.

Apart from Kovind, the Centre named Union home minister Amit Shah, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Finance Commission chairman NK Singh, former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash C Kashyap, senior advocate Harish Salve and former chief vigilance commissioner Sanjay Kothari as the panel's members. Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will attend the committee meetings as special invitee.

Soon after the announcement, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury decline to be a member of the panel. He argued that the committee's ‘terms of reference have been prepared in a manner to guarantee its conclusions’.