West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday expressed her disagreement with the concept of 'One Nation, One Election' which proposes simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and state assemblies. In a letter, written to the high-level committee led by former President Ramnath Kovind, the Bengal CM said that the concept would be against the basic structure of India's constitutional arrangements.
Banerjee also said that in 1952, the first general elections were simultaneously conducted for the central and state levels.
"I regret that I cannot agree with the concept of 'One Nation, One Election', as framed by you. We disagree with your formulation and proposal," she wrote, reported PTI.
"Non-simultaneous federal and state elections are a basic feature in the Westminster system which should not be altered. To paraphrase, non-simultaneity is part of the basic structure of the Indian Constitutional arrangements," she added.
The concept of One Nation One Election centres around the idea to hold elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies simultaneously with voting taking place concurrently instead of varied elections throughout the year.
The practice is not new to India as it was followed till 1967 but was discontinued later due to several factors such as dismissals, defections, and dissolutions of government.
A high-level committee has been formed to look into the possibility of 'One Nation, One Election' in the country with Kovind as the Chairperson.
Last year in November, Kovind called it a matter of national interest and said that all the parties have been requested to give their constructive support.
He also said that the party at the Centre will be benefitted from this, be it BJP, Congress, or any other party.
The current Narendra Modi government has been advocating the reform and so is Kovind, who in his address to the Parliament in 2018 mentioned One Nation One Election as one of the reforms proposed by the government.