"Bharat Takes A Giant Stride": Amit Shah On Cabinet Decision For Simultaneous Elections

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has hailed the Union Cabinet’s decision to adopt the recommendations for simultaneous elections, calling it a significant step towards electoral reforms. He said, “Under the leadership of PM Shri Narendra Modi, Bharat has been witnessing transformative reforms. Today, Bharat takes a giant stride towards landmark electoral reforms with the Union Cabinet accepting the High-Level Committee’s recommendations on One Nation One Election. This reflects Modi Ji’s determination to strengthen democracy through transparent and financially efficient elections while accelerating economic growth.”

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Modi, approved the recommendations of a High-Level Committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind. According to a government press release, simultaneous elections were previously held between 1951 and 1967, and various reports, including the Law Commission’s 170th report (1999) and the Parliamentary Committee’s 79th Report (2015), have called for returning to this practice.

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Key recommendations include holding Lok Sabha and Assembly elections together in the first phase, followed by local body elections within 100 days. A common electoral roll is also proposed, alongside nationwide consultations and the formation of an implementation group. The government report is available online for public access.

Opposing the “impractical” scheme, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge stated, “We don’t stand with this. One Nation, One Election cannot work in a democracy. Elections need to be held as and when required if we want our democracy to survive.” The opposition has consistently flagged ‘One Nation, One Election’ as unconstitutional.

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Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw responded to Kharge, stating that the opposition might start to feel internal pressure following the cabinet’s decision.

“The opposition might start feeling internal pressure (about One Nation, One Election) as more than 80% of respondents who responded during consultant process have given their positive support, especially the youth, they are very much in favour of this,” said the BJP leader.