"There Is No Place For The Concept Of Simultaneous Elections...": Mallikarjun Kharge (Image: X @kharge)

In a letter to the secretary of the committee on “One Nation, One Election“, the Congress strongly opposed the idea of holding simultaneous elections in the country. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge also said in the letter that such simultaneous elections go against the guarantees of federalism contained in the Indian Constitution.

Mallikarjun Kharge also demanded that the high-powered committee formed in this regard be dissolved. The Congress chief also requested former President Ram Nath Kovind “not to allow his persona and the office of former President of India to be abused by the Union Government to subvert the constitution and parliamentary democracy in this country.” Notably, Ram Nath Kovind is the head of the high-level committee.

In the letter to Niten Chandra, the secretary of the committee, Mallikarjun Kharge clearly stated that the Indian National Congress (INC) is strongly opposed to the very idea of “One Nation, One Election”. “For the sake of maintaining a thriving and a robust democracy, it is imperative that the entire idea must be abandoned and the high-powered committee dissolved,” added the Congress leader. He also said that there is no place for the concept of simultaneous elections in a country that has adopted parliamentary system of government.

Congress says that the composition of the high-level committee on this matter seems “highly biased” without giving substantial representation to opposition parties that head various state governments. The Congress chief said that the argument that the cost of conducting elections is extremely high seems “baseless.” Mallikarjun Kharge pointed out that the expenses make up less than 0.02 percent of the total Union budget for the preceding five years.

Mallikarjun Kharge wrote in the letter that the argument that the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct hurts development works or welfare schemes is also “baseless.” The Congress leader said that the government, parliament, and Election Commission of India (ECI) should work together to ensure people”s mandates are respected rather than “divert people”s attention by talking about undemocratic ideas like simultaneous elections.”

On January 10, the Economic Times reported that the panel on “One Nation, One Election” has received over 5,000 suggestions from the public on simultaneous polls. The panel had also informed in a public notice that the suggestions received by January 15 would be taken into consideration. The panel has conducted two meetings so far since it was constituted.