by Pankaj Yadav
NEW DELHI, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Debate has started in Indian political circles as the country goes to the general elections in 2019.
Three days prior to flying to Davos on Jan. 22 to participate in the World Economic Forum, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a TV interview strongly advocated the idea of holding simultaneous elections at the Centre and in all the states.
This, he said, will save a lot of money and also let the politicians focus on works for full five years without being disturbed by elections, which have lately become a round-the-year event in India.
On an average, as many as five Indian states go to polls every year. Whenever the states go to polls, it becomes a slugfest between the ruling and the opposition parties. As all resources are diverted to the polls, governance and development works take a back seat during such times.
For the first 20 years since India gained Independence in 1947, elections were held simultaneously for the parliament and all state legislatures. This was so because the polls held in that era gave a decisive verdict to the then ruling party.
The first four simultaneous elections for Centre and states were held in 1951, 1957, 1962 and 1967. But slowly that trend disappeared and frequent mid-term polls were witnessed.
This trend of holding elections at different times for different states, and the Centre, has been there for almost five decades now. More so since the late 1990s, an era which saw many government changes at the Centre and multiple parliamentary elections held over a span of four years. The government headed by former premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1996 lasted only for 13 days.
Hence comes forth this proposal of holding simultaneous elections in both states and at the Centre. The idea gained significance especially after reiteration by Modi on Jan. 19. Though there are valid arguments cited against the idea too.
Supporting the idea per se, Dr Jaswant Singh, a political analyst in Delhi, said that it's a good idea if implemented.
"Just like in the United States and in other countries where federal and provincial elections are held simultaneously, we can also think of adopting the idea," he said.
Toeing the prime minister's line, senior leader of the country's main ruling party the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Bhupendra Yadav said holding simultaneous elections will ensure "consistency, continuity and governance." But this would need amendment to the country's Constitution and electoral laws.
Presenting a diagonally opposite argument, the country's former Election Commission chief S.Y. Quraishi said the idea of holding simultaneous elections was very much "against the spirit of the Constitution and federalism."
Citing practical difficulties, he said that suppose simultaneous elections are held but the government loses its majority in the parliament, it will be difficult to hold a new set of elections in all the states.
Referring to the famous example of former premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee heading a government for 13 days only in 1996, he asked:"Why should the states suffer for the electoral decisions taken at the Centre?"
National and local issues are different, and holding simultaneous elections is likely to blur judgment, he added.