Several speakers have stressed the urgent need for conducting elections simultaneously to both Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, as they felt it will be the one and the only solution for various hardships the Election Commission of India (ECI) is presently facing for smooth conduct of polls.
Speaking at a symposium on “One Nation, One Election”, conducted by Pragna Bharati in Hyderabad, they suggested that political parties should come out with a pro-active initiatives for simultaneous polls.
Former Advisor to the ECI K J Rao stating that this is the time to debate and discuss the positives of simultaneous elections, has deplored that due to elaborated and exhausted election process in the country making election reforms difficult. He recalled that the election processes in the country keep the election commission busy for almost nine months of the year.
When elections take place in so many different phases across the states, he said there would be so much pressure. The expenditure incurred, not just by political parties, but also individuals is tremendous. Then the number of people employed for election duty is also a big number. All of this can be minimised, he added.
Stating that there will be number of objections once the debate about this arises, he is hopeful that better sense should prevail and political parties should come together to make necessary amendments. “There are no minus points and who will bell the cat is the only remaining question,” he added.
Former union minister Daggubati Purandeswari stressed the need for reformation in the election process with women and youth becoming an integral part of deciding the future of the country.
Meanwhile, at another meeting in the city, former Union minister Arun Shourie criticised the first-past-the-post electoral system being practised in India. He revealed he is working on a book on an alternative process that can be put in place. In the present system there have been instances where political parties could not come to power despite securing higher percentage of vote share, he added.
