One Nation, One Election undermines federalism: CM

Chennai: The Union Government’s proposal to hold simultaneous elections in the country has earned the ire of many people and Chief Minister M K Stalin, who is spearheading the protest against the initiative in the State, described it as ‘simply a move to satisfy the BJP’s ego.’

In his message on X, Stalin said: ‘One Nation One Election is an impractical proposition that ignores the complexities of India's diverse electoral system and undermines federalism.’

He said it was logistically unfeasible, given the vast differences in election cycles, regional issues, and governance priorities and that it would require an unrealistic alignment of all terms of office, disrupting the natural course of governance.

‘This entire proposal is simply a move to satisfy the BJP's ego, but they will never be able to implement it. India's democracy cannot be bent to suit the greed of one party. Union government should address pressing issues like unemployment, price rise and equitable distribution of resources to States instead of wasting energy on these diversionary tactics,’ Stalin said.

The DMK is just among the two dozen parties, including the Congress, that have opposed the proposal saying that it was impractical and unnecessary.

Though India started with the ‘one nation, one election’ concept after independence, only four electoral cycles could follow the procedure – in 195/52, 1957, 1961 and 1967. Since some State Assemblies were dissolved prematurely in 1968 and 1969 and the Lok Sabha itself was terminated in 1970, the cycle was broken.

The BJP that had been speaking about bringing in the old system for quite some time has set the ball moving with the Union Cabinet accepting the recommendations of a high-level committee, headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, to study the possibilities.

The committee, set up in September 2023, has recommended starting with simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and State Legislatures and then bringing in local bodies subsequently. The 18,626 page report of the committee was presented to President Draupadi Murmu in March 2024 and approved by the Union Cabinet.

But the opposition parties are against the move. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath called it a ‘toy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to keep people and country preoccupied with it.

The Aam Aadmi Party, too, opposed the Cabinet’s proposal, advocating elections to be held every month.