Even in a competitive democracy where political rivals joust fiercely and yet maintain a semblance of informed and civil discourse, it is a difficult task to push through legislation on contentious issues. When a competitive democracy becomes deeply polarised, to the extent that civil discourse is replaced by bitterness, abuse and mistrust, legislation of any kind becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible. At this point in time, the planned law on One Nation, One Election (ONOE) could become a victim of such a situation. 

There could be competing views on the need for ONOE and its impact on polity in a federal democracy like India. But in the absence of sagacity and pragmatism, hyperbole, rhetoric and polemics have ended up destroying both the discourse and the process of legislation for an amendment for simultaneous elections that the NDA regime proposed during the “washed out” winter session of the Parliament. As expected, the Bill has been referred to a select committee. It is anybody’s guess whether the NDA regime will manage to cobble together a two-thirds majority of “present” members to be able to pass the Bill.

No Time To Govern

However, what about the idea of ONOE? On the face of it, there is some merit to the argument in favour of simultaneous elections. There can be no dispute that the political landscape in India is littered with elections the way the Indian calendar is littered with festivals. Look at what has happened over the last year. There were elections to state assemblies in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Soon after that came the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. When political parties, voters and analysts had barely even begun to digest the import of the verdict, assembly elections became due in Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir (after a gap of 10 years). Even before one could delve deeper into the surprise verdicts, elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand were announced. Just as India starts the new year in 2025, elections to the Delhi assembly will be announced. For Indian voters, pollsters, pundits and assorted debaters alike, the year 2025 will be a relatively dull year as only Bihar will go for elections towards the end of the year. But 2026 will see a flurry, with Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam being the major states that will elect new governments. That will be followed in 2027 by shenanigans in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and some others. There will be another series of assembly elections soon after, and then the 2029 Lok Sabha elections will be due before you can pause to take a breath.

This is clearly not a healthy situation. National-level parties are perpetually in campaign mode because of this never-ending stream of assembly elections. Purely regional parties don’t suffer as much as their footprint normally doesn’t extend beyond one state. For instance, Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK chief M. K. Stalin and his son-cum-inheritor Udaynidhi Stalin couldn’t care much about elections to West Bengal and Assam, which will be held along with Tamil Nadu in 2026. Perhaps even neighbouring Kerala won’t be too important for them. 

A Case For ONOE

Yet, there is an impact on governance because elections mean the Model Code of Conduct, a period when policy decisions are paralysed. In a rapidly changing and evolving geopolitical scenario, this doesn’t augur well. Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leads the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the centre, it cannot announce significant policy decisions in 2026 as they could impact voter behaviour in states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam. Any window for serious governance and policymaking would be brief because soon it would be time for elections in Uttar Pradesh et al. Besides, there is the issue of costs, the diversion of human and other resources for the conduct of elections, and the question of organising paramilitary forces every few months. 

These factors do suggest that there is a case for simultaneous elections. On the other hand, what could be the reasons that present a case against it? There are some who argue that a single burst of elections to Parliament and all the state assemblies would give an unfair advantage to resource-rich national parties like the BJP, which would outgun and steamroll opponents who can’t match its resources, particularly at the regional level. That’s simply not true. The year 1967 was the last time India saw simultaneous polls. Even then, while Indira Gandhi led the Congress to a victory in the Lok Sabha, she lost about 10 states to various opposition groups and alliances. Even in contemporary times, the Narendra Modi-led BJP has won massive victories in Delhi in the Lok Sabha elections, to be followed soon by massive victories for the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP in assembly elections. The Indian voter is astute and knows how to distinguish between national and local issues. In any case, many regional parties have publicly announced their support for ONOE.

Give And Take

The problem is not the idea but the deeply divisive and polarised nature of Indian politics. The Janata Dal (United) (JD-U), an NDA ally, is in favour of simultaneous polls. On the other hand, its rival, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which is also largely confined to Bihar, is fiercely opposed to it. Both support and opposition don’t seem to stem from merits but from political divide and a deep mistrust. The manner in which the recent winter session of the Parliament was conducted reveals how bitter and deep this gulf is. In such a situation, it would take an extraordinary level of pragmatic give-and-take politics to make ONOE a reality. 

It is possible, the contentious GST Bill was passed in 2017 despite deep divisions. But for the sake of pragmatism, the authors would suggest two solutions. First, start with One Nation, Two Elections, wherein assembly elections are divided into two separate bunches. Second, and more important, the government should seriously consider a law that would enable referendums in India, as held in other major democracies. Why not have a national vote where citizens deliver a verdict on ONOE and other major issues?

(Yashwant Deshmukh is the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of CVoter Foundation and Sutanu Guru is Executive Director)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

Smoke rises from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, on September 20, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Sri Lanka to choose President in crucial contest on September 21

Over 17 million Sri Lankans will have a chance to elect their next President today in a crucial election, the first to be held after the island nation’s economy crashed in 2022. A good turnout is expected, in line with Sri Lanka’s record of high voter participation in every national election. The last presidential poll in 2019 saw a voter turnout of 83.72 %.

Doctors set to resume work but protests continue to rage in Kolkata

A day after junior doctors called off their ceasework agitation, healthcare workers and thousands of civil society protesters took to the streets of Kolkata seeking justice for the doctor who was raped and killed at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital (RGKMCH) last month. It has been 41 days since the female trainee doctor was raped and killed on duty at RGKMCH on August 9. So far, the Kolkata Police have arrested one person in connection with the case

Decks cleared for Atishi to take oath as Delhi Chief Minister

President Droupadi Murmu appointed Atishi as the Delhi Chief Minister. A gazette notification by the Union Home Ministry stated: “The President is pleased to appoint Ms. Atishi as the Chief Minister, National Capital Territory of Delhi, with effect from the date she is sworn in.” She also accepted Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation as the CM.

NIA searches four Punjab locations in Pannun case

The National Investigation Agency conducted searches at four locations in Punjab in connection with a case related to the alleged promotion of terror-related activities and violence by Gurupatwant Singh Pannun, the “designated terrorist” of banned outfit Sikhs for Justice. The searches were carried out at one location each in Moga and Mohali, and two in Bathinda, in the case registered by the NIA in 2023 against Pannun and other SFJ members.

FIRs against Rahul Gandhi over statements on Sikhs in India

Multiple First Information Reports (FIR) have been registered against former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in various districts of Chhattisgarh over his recent statements on the Sikh community made during the leader’s recent visit to the U.S. According to the police, Mr. Gandhi has been accused of hurting religious sentiments. Cases have been filed in the capital Raipur and a couple of other cities, including Bilaspur and Durg, with police sources adding that more such FIRs were in the process.

Top Hezbollah leader Ibrahim Aqil killed in Israeli strike

A strike on Hezbollah’s stronghold in Lebanon’s capital Beirut killed eight people and wounded dozens of others, with a source close to the movement saying a top military leader was dead. The Israeli military said it had conducted a “targeted strike”, while the Lebanese health ministry said the attack had killed eight people and wounded 59 more.

Nationwide outrage over custodial abuse pushes Majhi government into damage control mode

The alleged custodial abuse of an Army officer and the sexual harassment of his fiancée at a Bhubaneswar police station sparked nationwide outrage, pushing the Mohan Majhi government in Odisha into damage control mode. While the Congress questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the incident, the principal opposition in Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal demanded a court-monitored special investigation team probe and a judicial inquiry into this grave incident against an Army Major and the lady.

‘Blockchain,’ ‘smart materials’ among list of ‘innovate’ projects mooted in PM solar scheme

As part of the ₹75,000-crore PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has announced a ₹500-crore sub-component for “Innovative Projects”, according to a draft notification from the Ministry. Under this programme, companies and individuals can submit proposals, which will be perused by a committee, to execute novel ideas connected to rooftop solar installations.

Opposition rejects Sufi council’s plea for separate dargah board

The All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council, which claims to represent 600 dargahs in India, in a presentation before the Parliament’s Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, demanded a “separate” and “independent” dargah board, claiming that the current Waqf Boards are not “streamlined” for their needs. The council argued that the dargahs were distinct from other Waqf properties, since they had a hereditary Sajjada Nashin as its head – which means a single family had been “continuously and uninterruptedly” looking after the property for several centuries.

IndiGo tail strike: plane arrives in Delhi with damaged belly, cleared for flight to Bengaluru

An IndiGo Airbus A321 aircraft parked in Bengaluru since September 9, which is the subject of a DGCA enquiry for scraping against the runway surface, may have arrived in the same condition at its previous stop at Delhi airport. Airline sources familiar with the incident said the massive abrasions extending from the wings of the plane to the tail went completely unnoticed and the aircraft was cleared for the next flight to Bengaluru.

Key recommendations in simultaneous elections report ‘flawed’, says former CEC Quraishi

With the government setting the ball rolling for simultaneous polls, former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi has flagged concerns over the practicality and implications of the proposed move, saying some key recommendations are “flawed” as he emphasised the need for a debate in Parliament on these issues. The Union Cabinet accepted the recommendations of a high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind for holding simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha, State Assemblies and local bodies in a phased manner after a countrywide consensus-building exercise.

Tirumala laddus row: Samples of ghee used by TTD contained ‘foreign fat’ says NDDB report 

The samples of ghee used by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams in the preparation of ritual offerings (Naivedyam) to Sri Venkateswara Swamy, the presiding deity of the world famous Tirumala temple, and Laddu Prasadam contained fish oil, beeftallow (rendered form of beef suet) and lard (fat drawn from the abdomens of pigs) together called ‘foreign fat’ going by an analysis report of the National Dairy Development Board’s Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food (CALF) located at Anand in Gujarat. 

Haryana Assembly polls: Kejriwal tells voters to keep the BJP out of power

As the Aam Aadmi Party stepped up its election campaigning in Haryana, party supremo and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the BJP had been instrumental in putting him behind bars in a false case and it was time for voters to put the BJP out of power. At a roadshow in Jagadhri in Yamunanagar district, Mr. Kejriwal asserted that AAP was so popular among voters that no government could form without his party’s support in Haryana.

Why disrespect an 82-year-old leader, asks Priyanka on PM not replying to Kharge

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “disrespected” Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge by not replying to Mr. Kharge’s letter himself and fielding BJP President J. P. Nadda instead, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said. Ms. Vadra, in a post on X, said that in today’s “toxic political atmosphere”, the Prime Minister should have set a different example, keeping the dignity of his post in mind. Mr. Kharge had first raised with Mr. Modi the issue of “extremely objectionable” and “violent” statements being made against Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi by ruling alliance members.

Land-for-jobs case: Sanctions to prosecute Lalu Prasad obtained, CBI tells court

The CBI told a Delhi court that it has obtained requisite sanctions from authorities concerned to prosecute former railway minister Lalu Prasad in a corruption case related to the alleged land-for-jobs scam. The Central probe agency informed the court that there were around 30 other accused in the case for whom prosecution sanction was awaited, and urged it to grant 15 more days to enable it to obtain the requisite documents.

China ready to welcome more Indian firms into Chinese market: Envoy

China is ready to welcome more Indian companies to enter its market, Chinese ambassador Xu Feihong said while hoping that a “sound” business environment will be provided to Chinese firms in India. In an address at an event, Mr. Xu said China is looking at India to take “positive measures” for resuming direct flights and visas for Chinese citizens. The Chinese envoy’s remarks came amid the dragging border row in eastern Ladakh. India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.

India vs Bangladesh first Test | Compartmentalising batting and bowling has helped: Ashwin

R. Ashwin explained that compartmentalising his batting and bowling has helped him shine with the willow. The 38-year-old, whose sixth Test century powered India into a dominant position, spoke about trying not to think too far ahead while at the batting crease. “When I walked in, the only thing I wanted to do was settle down. The one thing I keep telling myself is to watch the ball hard,” said Ashwin, who went out to bat when India was in trouble at 144 for six.

BJP workers celebrate after the announcement of Union Minister for Road Transport and Highway Nitin Gadkari’s name as the party’s candidate from Nagpur constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, in Nagpur, on March 13, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Ram Nath Kovind-led panel may submit report on simultaneous polls on March 14

The high-level committee on ‘’one nation one election”, headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, may submit its report on simultaneous polls on March 14. There is no official word on the submission but a source indicated that the Kovind panel may submit its report to President Droupadi Murmu. The report is likely to recommend amending relevant articles of the Constitution and/or adding new sections to enable holding of simultaneous polls in the country.

Lok Sabha election 2024 | Gadkari, Piyush, Anurag in fray in BJP second list

The BJP released its second list of candidates for the coming Lok Sabha polls, featuring Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari contesting from Nagpur, Anurag Thakur from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, Pralhad Joshi from Dharwad and Piyush Goyal, who is also the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, from Mumbai North. The list of 72 candidates covered 10 States and one union territory, with all seats now declared for Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Tripura and Uttarakhand.

CAA helpline soon: Home Ministry 

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said it would soon launch a helpline to assist applicants for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019. Users are required to register on the portal (https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in). A mobile application, ‘CAA-2019’, has also been readied. All documents, along with photographs are to be uploaded online, and applications will be processed after a background check by security agencies and the payment of ₹50. 

U.S. House passes bill that would lead to a TikTok ban if Chinese owner doesn’t sell

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app TikTok if its China-based owner doesn’t sell, as lawmakers acted on concerns that the company’s current ownership structure is a national security threat. The lawmakers contend that ByteDance is beholden to the Chinese government, which could demand access to the data of TikTok’s consumers in the U.S. any time it wants.

Bulldogs, rottweilers, terriers may face ban

An expert committee constituted by the Department of Animal Welfare and Husbandry, Ministry of Agriculture, has recommended that certain breeds of “ferocious dogs” be prohibited from being kept as pets. An official letter has gone out from the department to all States listing out these dog breeds as well as instructions to no longer register licences that permit their sale.

Modi, Sunak assess progress on India-U.K. FTA negotiations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke over the phone, assessing the progress made on negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), as both countries face general elections. On Tuesday, Mr. Modi tweeted that he and Mr. Sunak had reaffirmed their commitment to the “early conclusion” of a “mutually beneficial” agreement.

Will publish details of electoral bonds ‘in time’, asserts CEC Rajiv Kumar

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said the Election Commission of India (EC) has received details from the State Bank of India (SBI) on the electoral bonds, in the wake of the recent Supreme Court order. Speaking in Jammu, Mr. Kumar said the EC will share all relevant information in time. “They have given us the details in time. I will go back and look at the data, and would definitely disclose it in time,” Mr. Kumar said.

Mamata snaps ties with brother and party rebel Babun Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee said that she was disowning and snapping ties with her younger brother Swapan Banerjee who is popularly known as Babun Banerjee. The Chief Minister’s remarks came a day after her brother said he would contest the Lok Sabha polls against Trinamool Congress candidate Prasun Banerjee as an independent.

PM Modi to kickstart BJP Lok Sabha poll campaign from Congress President Kharge’s home turf in Karnataka

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kickstart the BJP’s Lok Sabha poll campaign in Karnataka by addressing a public meeting in Kalaburagi on March 16, the party’s state general secretary V. Sunil Kumar said. Karnataka is the most important State for the BJP in south India as it’s only here that it had held power in the past.

Stop speaking lies about CAA: BJP to Opposition leaders

The BJP accused the Opposition parties of stoking communal passion by speaking “lies” about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), as the Modi government came under attack over its implementation. Former Union Minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad hit out at the Opposition leaders including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for their fierce criticism of the law and maintained that it takes away no Indian’s citizenship or job.

Russia is ready for nuclear war, says Putin

Russia remains in a state of combat readiness and is fully ready for a nuclear war, but not “everything is rushing to it” at present, President Vladimir Putin said in remarks published. In an interview with state media, Mr. Putin, who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and is nearly certain to win the March 15 to 17 presidential election, said Russia would be ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty was threatened. “From a military-technical point of view, we are, of course, ready,” Mr. Putin said.

Trump clinches GOP nomination for third consecutive U.S. Presidential election, setting up rematch with Biden

Donald Trump, whose single turbulent term in the White House transformed the Republican Party, tested the resilience of democratic institutions in the U.S. and threatened alliances abroad, will lead the GOP in a third consecutive presidential election after clinching the nomination. Mr. Trump’s victory in the GOP primary ushers in what will almost certainly be an extraordinarily negative general election campaign that will tug at the nation’s already searing political and cultural divides. He’ll face President Joe Biden in the fall, pitting two deeply unpopular figures against each other in a rematch of the 2020 campaign that few voters say they want to experience again.

Google restricts AI chatbot Gemini from answering queries on global elections

Google is restricting AI chatbot Gemini from answering questions about the global elections set to happen this year, the Alphabet-owned firm said on Tuesday, as it looks to avoid potential missteps in the deployment of the technology. When asked about elections such as the upcoming U.S. presidential match-up between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, Gemini responds with “I’m still learning how to answer this question. In the meantime, try Google Search”.