Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of Finance at One Nation, One Election Seminar in SRM University at Kattankulathur on April 5, 2025
| Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj
Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday (April 5, 2025) said simultaneous polls will boost economic growth, enhance public welfare, eliminate administrative disruptions and significantly reduce election-related expenditures.
Speaking at a seminar on simultaneous polls at SRM University in Chennai, Ms. Sitharaman said: “The concept of One Nation One Election was not introduced by the BJP government at the Centre headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After independence, simultaneous elections were held till the 1960s, and there was no opposition to it. However, between 1961 and 1970, five States had faced elections thrice and between 1971 and 1980 more than 14 States faced elections thrice. The frequent elections disrupted the timely decision-making process, stalled developmental activities, and hindered progress.”
According to her, simultaneous polls should be approached with national interest as a priority, free from political bias. Over 10 lakh armed security personnel and 25 lakh election administrative officials were deployed in 12 lakh polling booths in 2024 elections and approximately ₹1 lakh crore was spent. Implementing simultaneous polls would further boost India’s growth rate by 1.5 percentage points – equivalent to nearly ₹4.5 lakh crore – and save approximately ₹12,000 crore in election expenses. Voter turnout is also likely to increase with the implementation of simultaneous polls, she said.
Ms. Sitharaman said misinformation is being spread that simultaneous polls would be implemented in 2029 and the tenure of the State Legislative Assemblies would be shortened. The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, proposes simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and State and Union Territories’ Legislative Assemblies by inserting Article 82(A) to the Constitution of India.
The Bill also seeks to amend Articles 83, 172, and 327 with changes effective from a date, post-2029 general elections, thereby initiating simultaneous elections only in 2034. These proposed amendments, along with the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to synchronise the tenure of State and Union Territories’ Legislative Assemblies in the country and align them with tenure of the Lok Sabha, she said.
Former Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Tamilisai Soundararajan said frequent elections had not only led to policy paralysis but also resulted in a lot of economic and human capital expenditure. T.R. Paarivendhar, Chancellor, SRM University; Ra. Arjunamoorthy, BJP leader; faculty and students were among others present at the event.
Published – April 05, 2025 08:13 pm IST