00:00 I am Pragya and I bring to you excerpts from the latest issue of Outlook.
00:04 One Nation, One Election, One Nation, Many People.
00:08 The issue brings to you diverse debate and points of view on the idea of One Nation and
00:13 One Election.
00:14 From Concept to Reality by Kishore Desai.
00:17 Kishore Desai is a former officer on Special Duty, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime
00:22 Minister and NITI Aayog.
00:24 How to Implement Simultaneous Elections in India
00:26 The Government of India recently constituted a high-level committee headed by former President
00:31 of India, Ram Nath Govind, to examine the issue of simultaneous elections.
00:36 This announcement triggered a wide debate in the national discourse.
00:39 Supporters of this idea list out several benefits arguing its case.
00:44 They point out that simultaneous elections will rid India of being in an election mode
00:48 permanently.
00:50 This will provide governments and political parties the much-needed space to prioritize
00:54 structural measures, one which may be politically difficult to take but may benefit the country
01:00 in the long term over populist measures, and one that may be politically safe but may at
01:05 best provide short-term symptomatic relief.
01:09 Simultaneous elections are thus seen as a fundamental reform to transform the quality
01:13 of governance.
01:15 Other pros of simultaneous elections include significant savings in public expenditure
01:20 on recurring elections, reduced deployment of security forces and government officials,
01:26 and reduced disruption to development projects due to frequent imposition of the Model Code
01:31 of Conduct.
01:32 Critics, on the other hand, argue that simultaneous elections may impair the federal structure
01:37 of India.
01:38 They state that simultaneous elections can influence voter behavior in a manner that
01:43 voters may vote on national issues even for state assemblies or urban panchayat elections,
01:49 thus benefiting the large national parties and marginalizing the regional parties.
01:55 One can be sure that these arguments and debates will continue, perhaps even intensify, in
02:00 the days to come.
02:01 However, the dominant focus in this debate still revolves around the what and why, or
02:06 why not, of simultaneous elections.
02:09 Not much is being thought about the how of simultaneous elections.
02:13 If a decision to implement simultaneous elections is taken, then how will the implementation
02:18 really happen?
02:20 Will that even be suitable and sustainable in the long term?
02:26 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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