Most Opposition parties responded negatively to Election Commissioner O.P. Rawat’s assertion on Wednesday that the Election Commission would be ready to hold simultaneous elections by September 2018. They said it was neither feasible nor realistic, besides being anti-democratic. They pointed out that there had been no consensus among the parties.
Many of them said it would be impracticable as long as Article 356 — which allows the Centre to dismiss a State government if law and order fails — is on the statute book.
The Janata Dal (United) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), both allies of the BJP, back the idea, but the JD(U) has taken a more nuanced stand.
C.M. Ramesh of the TDP said his party backed the BJP’s idea of simultaneous elections, but senior JD(U) leader K.C. Tyagi said that while his party favoured simultaneous elections because they would lead to administrative efficiency, cut expenses and help smaller parties, an all party consensus was essential. “Nothing will be possible as long as Article 356 is on the statute book. That will require a constitutional amendment. The government must call an all-party meeting.”
The Congress, as the largest Opposition party, did not seem to favour simultaneous polls; but its response was measured.
“It seems to be an off-the-cuff statement. There are so many constitutional, legal and factual imponderables,” senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said. “Neither all parties have arrived at consensus, nor has the government taken an official stand yet, nor has the vexed issue of a full five-year term being interrupted by diverse, involuntary or external factors been taken into account...”
T. Siva of the DMK said his party opposed the idea. “As long as Article 356 is there, you cannot hold simultaneous elections. The ninth Lok Sabha ran for one-and-a-half years, the 11th for 18 months and the 12th for 13 months. You can’t guarantee that the Lok Sabha will run for five years... Could the governments in States which went to the polls last year or this year be dissolved? They have been given a five-year mandate. This is an anti-democratic move.”
Unrealistic, says CPI
D. Raja of the CPI said ‘One Nation, One Election’ was a BJP slogan that had ignored the reality of mid-term polls, a multi-party system, and the diversity of Indian polity. It was unrealistic. “Why is the Election Commission echoing the BJP line? Its mandate is to hold free and fair elections,” he said.
He said neither the Election Commission nor the government could take a decision on simultaneous elections because it required national consensus.
Describing the Election Commission’s assertion that it would be in a position to hold simultaneous elections within a year as “boastful,” Manoj Jha of the RJD said: “At the moment, the Election Commission can’t even hold a single-phase election in States such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.” The Indian federal structure, he argued, was fundamentally different from other democracies. “If you insist on oneness, you will kill the diversity of Indian federalism. Some States had elections last year. Will you dismiss the governments there in 2018?”
Meanwhile, Tariq Anwar of the NCP said his party’s working committee would meet on Friday to discuss the issue.
