'Impractical, cheap stunt': Oppn on one nation, one poll

As the Union cabinet approved the recommendations of the Ram Nath Kovind panel on 'one nation, one election' on Wednesday, opposition parties called the proposed move impractical and a 'cheap stunt' by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Union cabinet accepted the high-level panel's recommendations for holding simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies in a phased manner, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced.

Mallikarjun Kharge, president of the main opposition party Congress, said the proposal is not practical and alleged that the 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 in New Delhi.

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.

"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.

Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary D Raja said the proposed move would curtail the rights of the states.

'One Nation, One Election is an impractical and unrealistic idea in our constitutional setting,' Raja said in a post on X.

'One Nation, One Election goes against this vision and curtails state rights. For these reasons, the CPI is in opposition of the imposition of ONOE,' he added.

Raja said the CPI had opposed the proposal before the Law Commission as well as the panel headed by former president Kovind.

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 only 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.

Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati voiced support to the move.

'Our party's stand is positive on the approval given today by the Union Cabinet to the proposal to hold simultaneous elections of Lok Sabha, Assembly and local bodies in the country under the system of 'One Country, One Election', but its objective should be in the interest of the country and the public,' the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said in a post on X.

The high-level committee headed by Kovind 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.