Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for an all-party meeting to discuss ‘one nation, one poll’ last week. Of the 40 parties invited, only 21 attended.

The principal opposition party, the Congress, too boycotted the meeting.

At the meeting it was decided to form a committee to look into the matter and present a report in a time-bound manner.

Simultaneous elections also featured prominently in the President’s joint address to Parliament signaling this is one of the priority legislations for the Modi 2.0 government.

All the 29 states and 2 Union Territories which have chief ministers will go to polls in the next five years. This results in India being in election mode throughout the 5-year term of any Lok Sabha.

Since Narendra Modi is the star campaigner of the Bharatiya Janata Party, he is expected to seek votes for his party in all these state elections. For example, Modi held 34 rallies in Gujarat in 2017, 21 in Karnataka, 10 in Madhya Pradesh and 3 in Telangana in 2018. All this sucks out a lot of precious time of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Not only him, but many Cabinet ministers also have to campaign for the elections. For example, former current Working President of the BJP and former Heath Minister J P Nadda was stationed in Uttar Pradesh for 4 months ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as he was the state in-charge for the BJP.

Fifty ministers were sent to Gujarat to propagate the work done by the BJP government at the Centre. All this impacts the functioning of the government. As per a Niti Aayog report, simultaneous elections can save the government exchequer about Rs 4,800 crore.

While this is not such a big amount, (less than 1% of government’s budgeted expenditure), what appeals to me most is that it will significantly enhance our governance infrastructure.

The prime minister, the state chief ministers, other ministers, bureaucrats, et cetera will all save precious time. Yet, despite the advantages, simultaneous polls is not the most burning issue in the country at the moment.

Nor it is the most significant electoral reform pending: many basic issues need to be sorted out first.

1. Change in the definition of national/state party

Currently there are 8 national parties in India – BJP, INC, NCP, TMC, BSP, CPM, CPI and NPP. TMC, NCP and CPM have no significant presence outside their home states of West Bengal, Maharashtra and Kerala.

Truly speaking apart from the BJP and the Congress no other party qualifies to be a national party. Parties that secure minimum 5% vote share in national/state elections should be declared as national/state party.

2. State funding of elections: Aam Aadmi can’t contest

Currently the expenditure limit for state assembly elections is Rs 28 lakh and for the Lok Sabha polls is Rs 70 lakh. Additionally, the party can spend huge sums on star campaigners. As per CMS, Rs 60,000 crore were spent on the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, implying that more than Rs 100 crore were spent one very single constituency.

How can an aam aadmi (common man) who doesn’t get a ticket from an established party contest elections? It has become a game for the rich and the famous.

State-funding of elections will reduce the use of black money in elections and bring in a transparent funding mechanism.

3. Fixed tenure of MLA/MP

A Member of Parliament or a Member of the Legislative Assembly must have a fixed tenure of 5 years. He/she should not be allowed to resign in between the term or change his/her party. In case of resignation, the runner up should be given a chance to represent the constituency. This is necessary to prevent jumping from one party to another and then contesting for a different party in by-elections.

Many MLAs contest as candidates for Lok Sabha elections and if they go on to win, elections are forced upon us and the taxpayer has to bear the expenses of repoll.

For example, in Uttar Pradesh, by-polls to 12 seats are likely to be held this year due to this reason. An MLA/MLC/Rajya Sabha MP who wishes to contest Lok Sabha elections should first resign from the current seat before filing nominations.

4. Fixed tenure of assembly/Parliament

For the simultaneous polls idea to be successful, state assemblies and Parliament should have a fixed tenure. Otherwise the chain of one nation, one poll can be broken if a state assembly or Lok Sabha is dissolved in between. Two things can derail this process.

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