Simultaneous polls: ONOE can be justified as a course correction only if it cements core idea of democracy

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

One Nation, One Election' (ONOE) chaired by former president Ram Nath Kovind took place on Saturday. It was held a day after a 5-day special session of Parliament, indicating what is to be elaborate consultation, and not any 'surprise' legislation in the works. The Narendra Modi government has recently shown its keenness about synchronised elections.

This has led to speculations about sequencing the upcoming election schedule countrywide. The plan will require for minimum political consensus before hurdles of about half-a-dozen constitutional amendments can be jumped over, and significant changes made in the Representation of the People Act.

While addressing a joint session of Parliament in 2018, Kovind, then president, had already noted that frequent elections 'not only impose a huge burden on human resources but also impede the development process'. Another former president, Pranab Mukherjee, had earlier favoured the idea that has the backing of the Law Commission and the Parliamentary Standing Committee.

Once ground rules are set, the staggering enterprise of having all elections in one go falls on the Election Commission (EC).

EC has assiduously built the reputation of smoothly delivering successive national elections. The 2019 Lok Sabha election was the latest example. It had an electorate of 912 million, of which 615 million citizens voted.

These electors were listed in more than a million polling stations, spread over 32.87 lakh sq km. Electoral operations were manned by 12 million polling staff. Polling took place over 7 days with 8,054 candidates and 671 political parties vying for 543 seats.