Former President Kovind Defends ‘One Nation, One Election’, Says 32 Parties Support The Move

Former president Ram Nath Kovind, who led a high-level committee on 'One Nation, One Election,' on Friday (5 October) addressed concerns regarding the constitutionality of simultaneous elections in India.

Speaking at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Lecture in New Delhi, he emphasised that the concept of synchronized polls aligns with the vision of the Constitution's framers and is neither unconstitutional nor undemocratic.

Kovind highlighted that conducting simultaneous elections was standard practice in India's early years, with the first four Lok Sabha and state assembly elections held concurrently until 1967.

This synchronisation was disrupted in 1968 when several state assemblies were prematurely dissolved under Article 356 of the Constitution, leading to a staggered electoral cycle.

"Simultaneous elections were the norm in the early years of the republic. Elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies were synchronized during the first four electoral cycles...This cycle of concurrent elections was broken in the year 1968 when several state assemblies were prematurely dissolved by the then Union Government exercising its power under Article 356...," Kovind said.

Kovind noted that while some sections of society have termed simultaneous elections undemocratic and unconstitutional, this perspective overlooks the historical context and the original vision of the Constitution's drafters.

"Some sections of society have termed simultaneous elections undemocratic and unconstitutional. It is hard to miss the irony when we look into the genesis of the disruption of electoral cycles...Simultaneous elections were the vision of our constitutional forefathers...," he said.

He further mentioned that during the committee's consultations, 47 political parties presented their views, with 32 supporting the idea of simultaneous elections and only 15 opposing it. Interestingly, many among these 15 parties have supported the concept in the past.

"During our consultation process, 47 political parties presented their views to the committee. 32 out of these 47 parties supported the idea of simultaneous elections, only 15 parties did not. Many among these 15 parties have supported the concept of simultaneous elections in the past..," he added.

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