PM Modi wants ‘One Nation, One Election’ for the country, says that is what we require to save time and resources

“Elections are held at different places every few months, the impact it has on development works is known to all. Therefore, it is a must to have deep study and deliberation on ‘One Nation, One Election’,” PM Modi said.

While addressing the concluding session of 80th All India Presiding Officers Conference on Thursday emphasised the need of ‘One Nation, One Election.’ He said that elections happening around the country every few months “hamper the developmental work” and separate voter lists for different elections “are a waste of time and resources.”

The Prime Minister has spoken on this topic multiple times and consultations were held with multiple parties before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, this was his strongest pitch yet.

He also advised using a single voters’ list for Lok Sabha, assembly and panchayat polls, saying separate lists are a waste of resources.

“Legislature, Executive and Judiciary should work with better coordination and national interest should be the basis for every decision,” the prime minister said.

“We must remember that when politics take over people and nation-first policies, the nation has to pay adversely in such situations,” he added. 

He had been pressing for holding constructive dialogue to enable the Election Commission to hold elections simultaneously to bring down the expenses. Besides, this will also give governments more free hands and time to implement welfare schemes.

“We have to chalk out a path for this. Why’re we wasting time and money on these lists? Now, everyone above the age of 18 is eligible to vote. Earlier there were a few changes but now everything is clear. The time for complete digitization is here. The common man must have data for the functioning of every House and every House in the country should also have such data,” he added. 

What is One Nation, One Election?

All elections of the country held together under same conditions so that neither do the political parties have to involve in rallies throughout the year, neither does the election commission have to spend billions of dollars every 6 months for some election in some part of the country.