HYDERABAD: Highlighting the problems being faced by both the nation and states due to frequent elections, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday underscored the benefits of the ‘one nation, one election’ concept. He said every four to six months, one state or the other is going to polls.
“These series of elections are not in best interest of the country. A lot of resources, including money and manpower, are needed to hold these successive elections.”
“If all the attention is on these elections, when will the governments focus on serving the people and look after their welfare,” he wondered.
Chouhan was participating virtually in an awareness programme on ‘one nation, one election’ (ONOE) organised in Hyderabad by the Telangana unit of BJP.
Union Minister for Coal & Mines and state BJP chief G Kishan Reddy, BJP national general secretary Sunil Bansal and other key leaders also participated in the programme organised at a private hotel in the city.
Explaining how huge sums of money is being spent on conducting a series of elections, he said: “In 1951-52 elections, the government incurred an expenditure of Rs 11,000 crore. In 2019, Rs 60,000 crore were spent. The expenditure keeps increasing depending on number of polls.”
“If elections to Lok Sabha and state Assemblies are held simultaneously, the nation can save a lot of money and time, which can be utitlised to provide better services to people,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kishan Reddy also advocated for “one election”, stating that it will lead to governments giving more time to and spending more funds on development and welfare programmes. “We have to think about the future generations. We need ‘one nation, one election’ to take the country forward,” he said.
Kishan also appealed the BJP cadre, leaders and intellectuals to reach out to the people and explain to them the benefits of ‘one nation, one election’ concept.