Congress: Simultaneous polls are an anti-thesis to democracy

Dismissing the idea of simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, Congress rejected the proposal and called it an anti-thesis to democracy in India and a Constitutional perversity.

Addressing a press conference, two days after the Law Commission meeting on the subject, senior Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said it will result in dictatorship of a few and tyranny of some unelected members.

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s insistence on ‘One Nation, One Election’, the Law Commission had prepared a working paper that recommended holding the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls simultaneously in two phases beginning 2019.

“Any such proposal would be an anti-thesis to the democracy in India and would go against the grain of basic structure of Constitution. It is also against the letter and spirit of Democracy. The federal structure of our polity would stand decimated by such an authoritarian and autocratic step,” said Singhvi.

Specifying the party’s stand, Singhvi blamed BJP for maximising political gain and convenience by holding simultaneous poll.

“The concept of federalism is ingrained into our Constitution and multi-party Parliamentary system would also be endangered if simultaneous elections were to be made a reality,” said Singhvi, while adding that regional aspirations would be killed in the din of ‘One Nation, One Election’.

When asked why Congress boycotted the meeting called by the Law Commission, Singhvi said, “Congress did not attend the meet as party’s stand was clear by and large”.

On the question of consultation with smaller parties to form a consensus to oppose the proposal mooted by the BJP government, he said, “We have discussed the issue with opposition parties as well.” However, he refused to divulge any details.

So far, four political parties have supported the idea while nine have opposed it. The ruling BJP and the main Opposition Congress stayed away from Law Commission meeting on the subject.

At the end of the two-day consultation, besides NDA ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Samajwadi Party (SP), Biju Janata Dal (BJD), YSR Congress and Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) supported the idea. But, the AIADMK has made it clear that the party wants to complete its full term till 2021 for which it has electoral mandate and do not want to cut the term.

However, BJP’s ally in Goa, Forward Party opposed the concept. Trinamool Congress (TMC), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), All India Forward Block (AIFB) and the Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS) had opposed the proposal.

As per the media reports, SP, represented by Ram Gopal Yadav, supported the concept, but demanded that the first simultaneous polls should be held in 2019. If simultaneous polls are held in 2019, the tenure of the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh will be shortened.

SAD supported the concept of simultaneous polls, saying it would reduce the expenditure of parties and shorten the period of the Model Code of Conduct, which hampers development work.

Delhi-based Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has been at loggerheads with the BJP, opposed the idea by calling it a “ploy” to keep people away from forming a government. TMC called it “impractical and unconstitutional”.

Interestingly, BJP had sought more time from the Law commission to present its views on the issue.