Prashant Bhushan Alleges ‘One Nation, One Election’ Campaign A Ploy to Postpone State Elections

Prashant Bhushan Alleges ‘One Nation, One Election’ Campaign A Ploy to Postpone State Elections. Image/EPS

Prashant Bhushan, a renowned Supreme Court lawyer and activist, has accused the central government of promoting the ‘one nation, one election’ (ONOE) concept with the sole intention of delaying the upcoming assembly elections in five states.

The States in Question

The assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram are scheduled to be held later this year.

Challenges to ONOE

Bhushan argues that ONOE cannot be implemented in a parliamentary democracy like India. In India’s political system, a government can fall midterm if it loses its majority, and a fresh government is formed. However, the implementation of ONOE would mean that, in such a situation, Presidential rule would be imposed, which Bhushan believes is undemocratic.

A Shift Towards Presidential Rule?

He contends that ONOE would essentially shift India’s democratic system towards a presidential rule system, violating the principles of parliamentary democracy. Bhushan emphasizes that several constitutional amendments would be required to transition to a presidential rule system.

Political Landscape and Motive

According to Bhushan, the current government lacks a majority in the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of India’s Parliament). Despite these facts, he alleges that the government introduced the ONOE concept with the primary objective of postponing the state elections in the five aforementioned states. He asserts that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government fears defeat in these upcoming assembly elections and intends to delay them until the general election in 2024 under the guise of ONOE. Subsequently, President’s Rule would be imposed in these states, Bhushan claims.

The allegations by Prashant Bhushan raise concerns about the motives behind the push for ONOE and its potential impact on India’s democratic system.

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