One nation one poll: DMK, TDP oppose, TRS backs

The DMK and the TDP on Sunday opposed the idea of simultaneous elections to state assemblies and Parliament even as Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao voiced his unequivocal support for the proposal.

The regional parties aired their views at the deliberations hosted by the Law Commission on the proposition of simultaneous Parliament and Assembly polls.

DMK working president MK Stalin dubbed the Law Commission consultations as a “redundant exercise” as the previous commission in 1999 had reported on the issue exhaustively.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief Rao deputed party's Lok Sabha member Vinod Kumar to present the outfit's views on the issue.

“.. our party, i.e. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is strongly in favour of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies,” Rao said in a letter to Law Commission Chairman Justice (retd) B S Chauhan.

The Telugu Desam Party, led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, opposed the proposition of one nation, one poll.

“One nation one election, like one nation one tax for all Indian electorate is quite difficult because in the federation of 29 states and seven union territories, uninterrupted and unforeseen political developments can always create a situation for midterm polls,” TDP leaders Thota Narasimhan and K Ravindra Kumar said.

They argued that simultaneous elections was incompatible with the constitution and were also impractical.

While Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy had publicly voiced his opposition to the idea of simultaneous elections, the Congress party has maintained that it would consult other parties before finalising its stand.

Referring to the possibility of synchronising Assembly polls with 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the DMK leader said the panel's Working Paper did not seem to have considered that the Lok Sabha is also capable of being dissolved before its five-year tenure.
"In sum, the present proposal of the Law Commission of India seems to be a complete misadventure that will decimate the federal structure. I respectfully submit my party's wholehearted opposition to the proposal of 'one India one elections'," he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has on a number of occasions stressed the need to hold simultaneous elections to help save time and money, and ensure political parties pay more attention to governance.

In April, the Commission said simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies can be held in two phases from 2019, provided that at least two provisions of the Constitution are amended and ratified by a majority of the states.