The One-poll Plan

The Union government and the BJP are mulling the idea of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies of 11 States—most of them BJP-ruled—mainly to undercut anti-incumbency and derive some political advantage by selling the idea that this would be in “national interest”. The States in consideration are Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Haryana, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Bihar and Jharkhand. What all governments, regardless of the ruling political party, have failed to appreciate even 71 years after Independence, is that even in a country with a fairly high ‘illiteracy rate’ there is remarkably clear understanding of what the real intentions of the government are. The most important reason for having Lok Sabha and Assembly elections together is the factor of ease in campaigning, though the most important motivation for having Lok Sabha and Assembly elections together should really have been the very substantial reduction in election costs. But most of us know our political leaders only too well to realize that for them the cost of any initiative does not count as long as somebody else is paying for it. There could be some worries about whether their party could afford it and about the amount of work they might have to put in if they were directed to raise the funds for the party. But when it comes to the government itself having to pay for any undertaking, no politician ever worries about such ‘small’ outlays.

What is significant is that most of the 11 States that are due to have Assembly elections in 2019 are BJP-ruled States. So the idea being mooted is to hold all these elections together in February next year, three months before the Lok Sabha elections are scheduled. BJP sources discussing the idea have said that this can be achieved without any constitutional amendment. Since most of the States are BJP-ruled ones, the chief ministers would be more than amenable to accept the idea. One of the sources has even brought in the issue of cost perhaps out of consideration for what is regarded as politically correct for the common people. “Some States go to the polls months before the Lok Sabha polls, some months after the Lok Sabha polls and some with the Lok Sabha polls. Why can’t all of them be clubbed together? This will be in the interest of the country. So much money will be saved and Modiji will make a bold statement before the voters,” it said. BJP chief Amit Shah has written to the Law Commission and advocated simultaneous elections in the country, contending that frequent polls hinder development projects and that a lot of money would be saved for development. The Law Commission is understood to have prepared a draft working report on simultaneous elections by taking the feedback all stakeholders.

The primary consideration for all Indian voters should be cost efficiency for the country. In seeking to work out actual costs, it is important to bear in mind that time is, after all, money, and that every procedure involving the expenditure of time also results in high costs. These costs invariably turn out to be much higher for any initiative involving politicians because of their lifestyles and their lack of concern about expenses as long as their political party picks up the bills. The Lok Sabha and assembly elections being held together will drastically reduce the cost of elections. One tends to overlook the fact that there are 930,000 poll booths in the country and that over one crore workers are posted during elections. The country spent between Rs 1,600 and Rs 1,700 crore in 2011 and about Rs 4,000 crore in the 2014 polls. There is hardly any need to belabour the advantages of lower costs with Lok Sabha and Assembly elections being held together. This is something that needs to become the norm rather than the exception.