‘One Nation, One Election' essential for rapid development: Sunil Bansal
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary Sunil Bansal on Monday reiterated the need for a nationwide consensus on the proposed 'One Nation, One Election' (ONOE), calling it essential for rapid development and reducing administrative burden.
He said continuous elections have become one of the biggest challenges to governance and hoped the youth and students would spearhead this movement that would shape the politics of future.
Calling frequent elections the biggest obstacle to the goal of a developed India by 2047, Bansal said the process slows down development and affects governance.
Speaking at a workshop on ONOE at the Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University in Kanpur, Bansal said: 'India has always reformed its systems as per the needs of a changing world. The world is changing, and we cannot continue with outdated systems.'
Citing figures, he said in in the first general elections in 1952, 17 crore people cast their vote and that number rose to 96 crore in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
'Over the years, several electoral reforms have been introduced, including the shift from ballot paper to electronic voting machines, and lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years,' the BJP leader said.
'Year after year, elections have become a major issue for the country. Between 1995 and 2025, there has not been a single year without elections,' he added.
Since the 2024 general elections, five assembly elections have been conducted —in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Delhi — with Bihar set to vote later this year.
'We are constantly in election mode. During a government's five-year term, nearly one year is lost due to the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), which halts all development work,' Bansal said. He emphasised that ONOE is not a new idea.
'From 1952 to 1967, Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections were held simultaneously. This changed after 1968 when assemblies were dissolved early,' Bansal added.
He claimed that the Election Commission had recommended simultaneous elections as early as 1983, with subsequent support from the Law Commission in 1999, 2015 and 2018, and NITI Aayog in 2017.
As per Bansal, the ONOE Bill, based on the Ram Nath Kovind committee report, is currently under consideration by a Joint Parliamentary Committee which will conduct nationwide discussions. 'I urge all of you to make sure your voices are heard by the JPC,' he told the audience.
With ONOE, Bansal claimed, development would double, policy paralysis due to MCC would be addressed, resources would be used more efficiently, and more working hours and days would be available.
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