ONOP & One-Upmanship: The case for one-nation-one-poll rests on one crucial pivot – the possibility of improved governance. But such a big change must be built on consensus across the political class

One of the troubling aspects of Indian democracy is that anything proposed by one political formation will be opposed by the rest, never mind the actual merits of an idea. So it is no surprise that the entire INDIA bloc of opposition parties, which hopes to oust Modi from power in 2024, has given the thumbs down to the government’s proposal to examine the viability of holding simultaneous elections to three tiers of government – Centre, states and local bodies.

Already, the Congress member included in the Ram Nath Kovind panel to examine the feasibility of the proposal has opted out. The eight-member panel, which includes Union home minister Amit Shah, ex-Congress member Ghulam Nabi Azad and many non-political members, will lose some of its legitimacy if no opposition member joins it.

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