The Union Cabinet has cleared the ‘one nation, one election’ initiative, sources said. The government will introduce a comprehensive bill during the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan strongly pitched for simultaneous elections on Wednesday. He said that frequent elections are thwarting the progress of the nation while speaking at the International Gita festival in Kurukshetra.
Chouhan appreciated the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, “A glorious, prosperous, and powerful India is being built under the leadership of the prime minister. Soon, India will become the ‘Vishwa Guru’ (world leader) in front of our eyes. There is no doubt about it, and the whole world knows it.”
However, he said that the frequent election cycle is a major hurdle in progress: “Any other thing may be happening or not in the country, but election preparations continue for twelve months all five years,” he said. Chouhan highlighted the constant election cycle, from Lok Sabha elections to Assembly polls in states like Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Delhi.
The government accepted this year’s recommendations by a high-level committee on phased simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and local bodies. According to sources, on December 9, the government has set its ball rolling with ‘one nation, one election’ as it has moved to table the bill during the ongoing session of Parliament.
The Ram Nath Kovind Committee’s report, which is already approved by the Cabinet, supports this proposal of holding simultaneous elections across India.
