Is One Nation, One Election a DISASTER or MIRACLE for India? : Political strategy decoded

Summary

The video script discusses the 'One Nation, One Election' concept in India, a proposal to hold simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. It explores the potential benefits, such as overcoming inefficiencies in the model code of conduct, reducing election expenses, and improving national security. However, it also highlights concerns, including the possibility of national issues overshadowing local ones and the risk of reduced political accountability. The script examines the historical context, current debates, and challenges of implementing this policy, urging viewers to form their own opinions.

Takeaways

• 📅 The Indian government is considering a proposal called 'One Nation, One Election', which aims to hold simultaneous elections for both the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.
• 🇮🇳 The proposal is not new; simultaneous elections were held from 1951 until 1967, but political instability disrupted this practice.
• 💼 The government argues that this policy could overcome the inefficiencies caused by the Model Code of Conduct, which currently halts new projects during election periods.
• 💸 Holding elections together could significantly reduce the high costs associated with conducting separate elections at different times.
• 👮‍♂️ The proposal could improve national security by reducing the need for extensive deployment of security forces for separate elections.
• 🗳 Some studies suggest that simultaneous elections might favor the dominant party, as voters' choices could be influenced by national issues overshadowing local ones.
• ⚖ The policy faces criticism that it could reduce the accountability of politicians, as they would not be under constant electoral pressure to perform well between elections.
• ⏳ Implementing this policy would require significant adjustments to the current terms of various state and central governments, which could be politically challenging.
• 🔄 If a state or central government collapses, it could disrupt the synchronized election schedule, posing a logistical challenge.
• 📊 The proposal is a subject of intense debate, with some viewing it as a revolutionary change and others as an abuse of power by the ruling party.

Q & A

What is the 'One Nation One Election' initiative in India?

The 'One Nation One Election' initiative proposes that elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies should be held simultaneously, allowing voters to cast their votes for both their state and national representatives at the same time.

Why did the practice of simultaneous elections end in 1967?

The practice ended due to political instability, such as the Congress party losing control in several states and the imposition of President's rule in some states, which led to de-linking the general election schedule from the state election schedule.

What are the primary benefits of holding elections simultaneously?

The primary benefits include overcoming the inefficiency of the model code of conduct, reducing the high cost of conducting elections, minimizing governance downtime, and improving security by not diverting forces for multiple elections.

How does the model code of conduct affect governance during elections?

The model code of conduct suspends the announcement of new development programs, welfare schemes, and capital projects from the time election dates are announced until the election process is complete, hindering governance activities.

What was the cost of the 2019 general elections in India?

The 2019 general elections in India cost approximately 60,000 crores, making it the world's most expensive election.

What additional costs are associated with conducting separate elections?

Additional costs include setting up polling stations, security arrangements, and logistics twice, as well as the indirect costs of governance downtime and the time officials spend on election duty instead of governance.

Why do some political parties oppose the 'One Nation One Election' initiative?

Opposition arises because studies suggest the top party is more likely to win both state and national elections if they occur together, national issues might overshadow local issues, and politicians would face less consistent pressure to perform well.

What challenge would implementing 'One Nation One Election' pose regarding government tenures?

It would require regulating the terms of various governments, potentially cutting short or extending terms to align with the new schedule, which could be unacceptable to many parties.

What is governance downtime, and how is it affected by elections?

Governance downtime refers to the time that government officials spend on election duty instead of governance. Simultaneous elections could reduce this downtime, allowing officials to focus more on governance.

What would be the impact on security forces during simultaneous elections?

Security forces, which are typically diverted for election duty, could maintain their primary duties more effectively if elections were held simultaneously, thereby improving overall security.

Outlines

00:00

🗳️ One Nation, One Election: Overview

The concept of 'One Nation, One Election' is gaining traction in India, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government calling for a special Parliament session. This proposal suggests holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. While some hail it as a revolutionary policy, others criticize it as a power grab by the BJP. The idea has sparked significant debate among political parties and the media.

05:02

📊 Benefits of Simultaneous Elections

The 'One Nation, One Election' initiative is proposed to bring several benefits, including overcoming the inefficiencies of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), which suspends development activities during election periods. Holding all elections together could prevent governance downtime and save significant election expenditure. The 2019 general elections, for instance, incurred costs due to multiple elections held across various states.

10:03

🔍 Examining the Opposition

Despite the proposed benefits, there are substantial arguments against 'One Nation, One Election.' Studies suggest that simultaneous elections might favor the dominant party, reducing electoral chances for smaller parties. Continuous elections keep politicians accountable, and synchronizing terms would be logistically challenging. The concept also raises concerns about overshadowing local issues with national ones, and the complexity of implementing this policy effectively.

Keywords

💡One Nation One Election

This refers to the proposal to hold all state and national elections in India simultaneously. The concept is central to the video's theme, which discusses its potential benefits and drawbacks. The script mentions that this idea has been met with both support and opposition among various political parties and explores the historical context of synchronized elections in India from 1951 to 1967.

💡Model Code of Conduct

The Model Code of Conduct is a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India to regulate political parties and candidates prior to elections. In the video, it is highlighted as a source of inefficiency because it suspends development programs and welfare schemes during election periods, thereby hindering governance. The script provides examples of its impact during the 2019 general elections and the 2023 Karnataka State Assembly elections.

💡Election Commission of India

The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering elections in the country. The video discusses its role in enforcing the Model Code of Conduct and its strictness in preventing new project announcements that could influence voter decisions. The Commission's guidelines are a focal point in the debate over the efficiency of the election process.

💡Election Expenditure

Election Expenditure refers to the costs incurred by political parties and candidates during election campaigns. The script emphasizes the escalating costs of Indian elections, citing the 2014 elections as the world's most expensive, and discusses how simultaneous elections could potentially save up to 2000 crores in expenses.

💡Simultaneous Elections

Simultaneous Elections is the concept of holding state and national elections at the same time, which is the core of the 'One Nation One Election' proposal. The video explores the historical practice of this method and its potential to streamline the election process, reduce costs, and improve governance by avoiding the repeated mobilization of resources for separate elections.

💡Political Turmoil

Political Turmoil refers to periods of political instability or unrest. The script mentions the 1967 elections when the Congress party lost control in several states, leading to a disruption in the practice of simultaneous elections due to the subsequent imposition of President's Rule and early elections in 1971.

💡Governance Downtime

Governance Downtime is the time period during which government officials are preoccupied with election duties and cannot focus on their regular governance responsibilities. The video argues that simultaneous elections could reduce this downtime, allowing officials to concentrate more on governance rather than election logistics.

💡Security of India

The term 'Security of India' in the context of the video refers to the impact of elections on the country's security apparatus. It is suggested that mobilizing millions of people for elections could compromise the primary duties of security forces, and simultaneous elections could help in maintaining a more consistent security posture.

💡Staggered Election System

A Staggered Election System is a method where elections at different levels of government are held at different times. The video contrasts this with simultaneous elections, suggesting that a staggered system keeps politicians under constant scrutiny and pressure to perform well, which could be reduced with simultaneous elections.

💡Political Parties

Political Parties are the various groups that participate in the democratic process by contesting elections. The script discusses the differing reactions of political parties to the 'One Nation One Election' proposal, with some viewing it as revolutionary and others as an abuse of power or a strategy for the BJP to win the 2024 elections.

💡Election Logistics

Election Logistics involves the organizational aspects of conducting elections, such as setting up polling stations and security arrangements. The video suggests that simultaneous elections could reduce the cost and complexity of election logistics by requiring these arrangements to be made only once instead of multiple times for separate elections.

Highlights

The concept of 'One Nation One Election' in India has been proposed to hold simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.

The idea was explored by a committee headed by former president Ramnath Kovind in September 2023.

Political parties have shown mixed reactions, with some opposing the initiative, fearing it as an attack on the Indian Union or a power abuse by the BJP.

Amit Shah has been named as a panel member to work on the 'One Nation One Election' initiative.

The initiative is considered revolutionary by some due to its potential to streamline the election process and governance.

Simultaneous elections could overcome inefficiencies caused by the Model Code of Conduct, which halts development programs during elections.

Election expenditure could be drastically reduced by holding all elections together, saving billions of rupees.

Simultaneous elections might lead to a higher chance of the top party winning both state and national elections.

National issues could overshadow local issues in simultaneous elections, potentially benefiting national parties over regional ones.

Politicians are under constant scrutiny with staggered elections, maintaining pressure for good governance.

The implementation of 'One Nation One Election' would require regulating government tenures, which could be challenging.

Elections held together could save on logistics, security arrangements, and reduce governance downtime.

The initiative could improve national security by reducing the mobilization of forces for separate election duties.

The discussion paper by former Niti Aayog members Kishore Desai and Vivek Dey provides insights into the initiative.

The transcript encourages viewers to read the discussion paper and form their own opinions on the matter.

The video concludes by presenting the challenges and benefits of 'One Nation One Election' for viewers to consider.

Transcripts

One Nation one election

here in India the rumor Mills are

buzzing there is talk of one nation one

election the government of prime

minister Narendra Modi has called for a

special Parliament session

I I was not expecting this foreign

foreign

foreign

on 1st of September 2023 a committee

headed by the former president ramnath

Cohen explored the possibility of

something called One Nation one election

in India and ever since this thing has

come out in public political parties all

across the country have been fuming with

anger Rahul Gandhi is calling it an

attack on the Indian Union kejriwal has

passed this move and even the DMK has

been opposing this idea and while all of

this has been happening Amit Shah has

been named as one of the panel members

to work on this one nation one election

initiative so with the gender elections

of 2024 closer than ever on one side

while it is being hailed as a

revolutionary policy on the other side

it has been criticized as the abuse of

power and a bjp's secret instrument to

win the 2024 elections and as usual our

media channels have been debating on

useless matters instead of actually

explaining the logic of the subject so

in this episode today let's cut through

the and try to understand what

is this one nation one election

initiative all about why is it

considered to be a revolutionary concept

by some parties why is it considered to

be a terrible concept by other parties

and most importantly for this video we

are using the discussion paper by former

members of the Niti IO who are Kishore

Desai and Vivek de broy and now bibek is

the chairman of the economic advisory to

the Prime Minister himself so after

watching this video do find the paper

from the link in the description so if

you're ready let's dive in so as usual

let's start from the basics and try to

understand what exactly is the meaning

of one nation one election people in

simple words if you look at the existing

system elections to the Lok Sabha and

the State Legislative assemblies are

held separately this is because they are

held when they are respective five-year

terms come to an end and these term

endures do not coincide with each other

so elections are held in different

states in different times but the one

nation in one election proposal suggests

that these elections must be held

simultaneously whereby the voters would

cast your votes for both their state

representatives and their National

Representatives at the same time

basically all the state elections and

Lok Sabha elections must be held at the

same time and this is not a new thing at

all in fact after the adoption of the

Constitution the elections to the Lok

Sabha and All State Legislative

assemblies were held simultaneously from

1951 till 1967 but from 1967 onwards

India saw a lot of political turmoil for

example in 1967 elections the congress

party lost control in several States

like Bihar Punjab and uttar Pradesh

these states either saw non-congress

parties or coalitions coming to power

then in 1968 president's rule was

imposed in uttar Pradesh just one year

after the state elections and in 1971

the then prime minister Indira Gandhi

called for early elections which were

originally scheduled to be held in 1972.

this again led to a de-linking of the

general election schedule from the state

elections schedule so one nation one

election Is Not A New Concept it

naturally got disrupted due to political

instability so now the question over

here is why does this government want to

apply One Nation one election strategy

again and what is so amazing about

holding elections of state and Central

together well as it turns out there are

several benefits to holding all the

elections together

first benefit is that India will

overcome the inefficiency of model code

of conduct mode for those who don't know

the model code of conduct is a set of

guidelines which are issued by the

election commission of India and they

are used to regulate the political

parties and candidates prior to the

elections so it says that from the day

that the date of elections are announced

till the entire process of election is

complete except for the routine

administrative activities any other

development program welfare scheme or

Capital project shall be suspended

similarly when the state elections are

held the state government cannot start

or announce any giant project even if

they are super important for the state's

economic for example in the 2019 general

elections the model code of conduct came

into effect from March 10th when the

election dates were announced till May

23rd when the final election results

were declared so during these 2.5 months

the center could not initiate any new

highway project welfare scheme and they

could not initiate any new healthcare

scheme all across the country in

Karnataka State Assembly elections the

model code of conduct was in effect from

29th of March 2023 to 13th of May 2023.

on top of that if the center specially

has something to initiate for the state

even that is not allowed during the code

of conduct time span so do you see

what's happening over here for 2.5

months the center could not initiate

anything and for 1.5 months the state

could not initiate anything so

effectively for four months the

government is simply not functioning to

initiate any new projects at all this is

because the election commission of India

believes that if these parties are

allowed to make Grand announcement just

before elections these parties both at

the center and state might use this

announcement to lure the voters to vote

for their parties so that is the reason

why the election commission of India is

very strict about not initiating any new

projects during this tenure and you know

what guys because of this reason in the

year 2014 governance and development

activities remained suspended for seven

months three months across the country

about two months in jharkhand and jnk

and another two months in Maharashtra

and haryana this is the first problem

that one nation one election will help

to solve by which the development of the

country will not be hindered due to

moral code of conduct product the second

challenge that it is expected to help us

overcome is the insane amount of

election expenditure did you know that

the 2090 elections alone costed us 60

000 crores in total and you will be

stunned to know that it was the world's

most expensive election and this number

is increasing at an alarming rate if you

see this graph in 2009 parliamentary

elections costed 1115 crores but by 2014

this number jumped up by three times to

3870 crores and it's not just the

election commission but even the

candidates spent a lot of money in their

campaigns according to official figures

parties spent

1587 crores in campaigning but

unofficially this number is estimated to

be around 30 000 crores and just after

the 2014 parliamentary elections many

state elections were conducted which

again costed us very heavily for example

maharashtra's election in 2014 costed us

793 crores jnk's election costed us 110

crores bihar's 2015 election costed us

300 crores and gujarat's 2017 election

costed us 240 crores so add this up to

the Lok Sabha election cost and you will

see that the bill comes to

3870 crores so between 2014 to 2017

alone with the existing calculation that

we have the government has spent a total

of

5313 crores in just conducting elections

and by the way I'm not even taking into

consideration the amount of money spent

in other states like Tamil Nadu West

Bengal haryana Assam and jharkhand where

the State Assembly elections were

happened during the same time and

because we don't have the stats we can

add them to the number but the point we

noted over here is that elections are

very very costly and you know what guys

according to this discussion paper if

only all these State Assembly elections

and parliamentary elections were held

together it would have cost us just 4

500 crores which means we would have

easily saved at least 2 000 crores in

election expenses on top of that there

are also other are losses that come

along with the election process for

example every time elections are held we

need to set up polling stations security

arrangements and Logistics cost two

times one for the general election and

one for the state elections so instead

of deploying polling booths electronic

voting machines and security Personnel

for state election and then again for

the national election if everything

could be deployed once it will cut down

the cost by a large extent and lastly

one of the most underrated costs that we

ignore is something called governance

downtime in simple words the time that

the government officials spend on

Election duty is the time that they will

not spend on governance for example

civil servants are often pulled away

from their regular duties to oversee

election Logistics but with one nation

one election such important people can

actually spend months of their time into

actual governance than just election

Duty and cherry on the cake even the

politicians will save a lot of money

because they just have to camp in once

in a particular state if one nation one

election is executed this is a second

benefit of one nation one election which

is a drastic decrease in both direct and

indirect cost

and the last benefit is the improved

security of our country now the question

over here is what is the connection

between election the security of India

well as it turns out the election

commission mobilizes roughly 10 million

people to ensure a smooth electoral

process all across the country and this

includes nearly a million polling

stations so just like downtime

governance when the forces are deployed

for election Duty for four months their

primary Duty gets compromised so now the

question is if one nation one election

is such an amazing concept then why are

these political parties opposing it is

it just propaganda or do they have some

medal to their argument well as it turns

out some studies state that with one

nation one election there is a chance

that the top party is more likely to win

sounds crazy isn't it so that's why we

looked into some stat and we found a

study in 2015 by The idfc Institute that

showed that if elections occur together

there is a 77 percent chance that the

top party will rule both the state and

the country

but if these elections happen six months

apart this percentage drops to 61

percent now the question we heard is why

will there be a sudden change in their

choices within just six months

well as it turns out sometimes voters

have second thoughts sometimes they

regret their first choice or sometimes

they are not as impressed by the party

as they were right before the elections

let's take Bihar as an example in 2014

41 percent of Bihar voted for BJP for

the parliament but fast forward to 2015

for the state elections that number fell

down to just 36 percent so do you see

this if both these elections had

happened at the same time there was a

very high chance based on this 2014 data

that BJP might have kept that five

percent Vote or perhaps they would have

even won the State Assembly elections

secondly it is said that with

simultaneous elections National issues

might overshadow the local issues and

eventually the national parties will

benefit whereas the smaller Regional

parties might struggle together wise

heard thirdly in a staggered election

system the politicians are constantly

under the scanner so after they get

elected at the center if the party does

something bad they know that they will

lose votes in the state elections so

when elections are always around it

creates a consistent pressure to keep

the politicians in check and makes them

more responsible to the problems of the

nation for example the general elections

were first held in 2014 and then in 2019

but in between this time span several

State elections happened like elections

in Maharashtra and haryana happened in

October 2014 Jammu and Kashmir in

November 2014 and jharkhand in January

2015. so even between both these general

elections the government was constantly

under the pressure to perform well so

that they can win the elections in all

these states but at the same time if

these elections are held only once in

five years the argument says that it

will make the government complicit and

it will ease the pressure of the

politicians to be more responsible and

lastly executing the one nation one

election policy is going to be a very

very tough challenge why because number

one all the government tenures will have

to be regulated for this term for

example if this policy had been used in

2019 elections Tamil Nadu Assam and

Kerala would have to cut short their

terms by two years whereas Goa

uttarakhand and uttar Pradesh would have

to extend their terms by two years and

this would be unacceptable by most

parties and even after its

implementation if again one of these

State parties fall or if the government

at the center is dissolved then again

the whole schedule will go out of sync

so this is the dark side of the one

nation one election move and now it's

completely up to you to decide whether

this is good or bad that's all from my

side to today guys I have attached all

the study materials in the description

do read through them and frame an

opinion of your phone if you learn

something valuable please make sure to

hit the like button in order to make

YouTube happy and for more such

insightful business and political case

studies please subscribe to our Channel

thank you so much for watching I will

see you in the next one bye bye

[Music]

[Music]

thank you