'One Nation, One Election will benefit voters': Law Commission

The Law Commission, in its report on One Nation One Election, said that simultaneous polls would save a lot of finances and would enable voters to choose their leaders more wisely. It, however, also said that “the finalisation of the report on One Nation One Election would require some more meetings.” Last month, the central government reinforced its push for ‘One Nation, One Election’ by constituting a panel to explore its feasibility in India. “One major benefit of One Natoin One Election as suggested by various studies would be that people will choose their leaders more wisely as the elections would only be held after a substantial period of time and hence people would not only come out in large numbers to vote but would also be voting in a much wiser manner,” Ritu Raj Awasthi, the chairman of Law Commission of India told News18. It added, “Another big reason why One Nation One Election would be effective is that it would save a lot of finances and continuous deployment of security forces. We have held extensive consultations with the Election Commission of India (ECI) which ultimately is the executing body when it comes to elections. ECI is of the view that if given a required period of time, it can implement and execute such an electoral process.” If the government goes ahead with the plan, India will see simultaneous polls across states. The proposal states that elections for Lok Sabha and all state assemblies should be held at the same time.