BJP briefs state units to build a consensus on simultaneous polls

New Delhi: In an attempt to build consensus and public support over the proposed One Nation, One Election move, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday held a briefing of its functionaries from several states to apprise them about the contours of the legislations seeking to roll-out simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

The briefing comes ahead of the meeting of the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) — which is examining the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill — on January 31. The JPC is expected to submit its report in the upcoming Budget session of Parliament.

Held at the BJP headquarters, the briefing was addressed by Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and party national general secretary Sunil Bansal. The ruling party has set up a panel of leaders led by Chouhan and Bansal to oversee the awareness programme, and Monday’s interaction included party functionaries from states such as Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, people aware of the details said.

“The party leadership has instructed the state units to undertake a jan-jagran (public awareness) programme that will explain to the masses the concept of simultaneous elections, and the need for such legislation. The idea is to build public support for the move, just as it was done for the Waqf amendment bill,” a person aware of the details said, declining to be named.

The BJP had organised public meetings and seminars on the alleged shortcomings of the Waqf Board and the need for amendments, even as the move drew a sharp response from various Opposition parties and Muslim organisations.

Backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP has been pushing for simultaneous elections, underlining that among the several benefits of switching to synchronised polls are the savings made to the exchequer.

To ensure there is no hold up in the passage of the bills that propose the alignment process to begin in 2029 and the first simultaneous elections in 2034, the BJP has already reached out to its NDA partners, the Janata Dal (United), the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and other allies to support the bills, which were referred to the JPC in December last year shortly after being introduced in the Lok Sabha.

BJP president JP Nadda had first briefed the allies in September last year during a meeting at his residence.

TDP president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu has supported the ONOE move, pointing out that elections “should not hinder development”. The JD(U) has also expressed support to the bills, but pointed out that panchayat and local body polls should not be held together with the Lok Sabha and assembly polls. The Nitish Kumar-led party has also asked the Centre to explain the provision seeking a limit on the number of times that a no-confidence motion can be brought, and sought more details on the claim that simultaneous polls will boost voter turnout. The Shiva Sena led by Eknath Shinde has also extended its support to the legislations.

At the first meeting of the 39-member JPC on January 8, BJP lawmakers backed the two bills, claiming they reflected the people’s will even as the Congress-led Opposition argued the move violated the tenets of parliamentary democracy.

Of the 39 members in the JPC, 22 are from the NDA, including 16 from the BJP, while 15 are from the INDIA bloc, including five from the Congress. The BJD and YSRCP are not part of any coalition, but their lawmakers are part of the JPC.