Prime Minister Modi has been advocating reforms in the electoral process and holding of general and legislative elections simultaneously to save resources, reduce pressure on the administrative machinery in conducting elections throughout the year and save public money. (Photo: PTI)
Undeterred by the reduced votes in the 2024 parliamentary elections, the Bhartiya Janata Party-led government will continue to work on the agenda promised in 2014, when Prime Minister Modi was first sworn in as Prime Minister, top sources say.
During its first two terms, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government fulfilled its key promises, including the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, abolition of Article 370 in JK and implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act, among others. The promise of One Nation, One Election, where state assembly elections are held along with parliamentary elections, is another major promise in the BJP’s election manifesto.
According to sources, the NDA government is committed to holding simultaneous general and assembly elections. They also added that the principle of ‘One Nation, One Election’ will be realised during this term of the government and the BJP hopes to enlist the support of other political parties as well.
Several opposition parties and chief ministers of opposition-ruled states have opposed the idea of One Nation, One Election.
Prime Minister Modi has been advocating reforms in the electoral process and holding of general elections and assembly elections simultaneously to save resources, reduce pressure on the administrative machinery in conducting elections round the year and save public money. The High Level Committee on ‘One Nation, One Election’ led by former President Ram Nath Kovind in its report stated that frequent elections create an atmosphere of uncertainty and impact policy decisions, adding that holding simultaneous elections would bring greater certainty in policy formulation. While highlighting the advantages of simultaneous elections, the committee stated that ‘One Nation, One Election’ ensures ease and convenience for voters, prevents voter fatigue and facilitates higher voter turnout.
The Prime Minister, in his speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day, also advocated holding of parliamentary and assembly elections simultaneously.
“Constant elections in the country are leading to a race for development. The welfare schemes of the country are now linked to elections. Every three to six months we have elections, every work in the country is now linked to elections. A wide range of debates have already taken place. All political parties have already expressed their views. A committee has already submitted the report in this regard. The nation must go for a one-nation election. I request all political parties in the Red Fort to go for a one-nation election,” he had said.
Meanwhile, sources have also told ANI that the administrative work for conducting the long-delayed national census is underway; however, no decision has been taken yet on whether an index or a caste column will be included in the census. Opposition parties such as the Congress, RJD and SP have been strongly demanding the conduct of the caste census. NDA alliance partner Lok Janashakthi Party chief Chirag Paswan is also in favour of a nationwide caste census.
The last census was conducted in 2011 and is scheduled to be conducted in 2021. The census is conducted every ten years, but the 2021 census was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has been on hold since then. The census provides key socio-economic and demographic data to policy makers and plays a crucial role in governance.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First published: September 16, 2024 | 7:06 am IS
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