Underlining that the simultaneous polls would be against the basic structure of India’s constitutional arrangements, Banerjee said she regretted that she cannot agree with the concept of ‘One Nation, One Election.’
“We disagree with your formulation and proposal,” she wrote in the letter,” adding that there are basic conceptual difficulties in agreeing with the committee, and the concept is not clear.
Later speaking in Kolkata, Banerjee said this concept is not correct from the federal structure point of view.”If ‘One Nation, One Election’ is in place and a state does not get a stable government, what will happen? Are we heading towards a presidential form of election like the USA? In the Indian Constitution, it is not established like this. Our country is a republic and it is a democracy,” Banerjee added.
“I will request the Election Commission of India to look into the matter very carefully. I appreciate the coinage of ‘One Nation’ but it must be evaluated to see if it is practical and applicable from a practical point of view,” Banerjee emphasised.
In the letter, Banerjee also said that states which are not expecting assembly elections should not be forced to go for “premature general elections for the sake of introduction of coevality only: that will be basic violation of the electoral trust of the people who have elected their Vidhan Sabha representatives for full five years.”The high-level committee headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind had written to political parties seeking their opinion on the matter.The committee has held two meetings since it was constituted in September last year. It has sought views from the public on the issue and has also written to political parties seeking their views and an interaction on a “mutually agreed date” on the idea of simultaneous polls.