By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR:India is the world’s largest democracy. But due to the continuous election process, many problems are being created here. Efforts have been started to reform this system by changing it to one nation, one election. This will help the country’s development and prosperity to move forward at a faster pace. This model will improve the economic, political and social structure of the country. This can create a strong, stable and prosperous India. It will play a major role in making India a stable and developed nation, said National General Secretary Sunil Bansal at the One Nation One Election Conference held at SOA University.
Shri Bansal said that the expenditure on the 2019 general elections was Rs 60,000 crore. The expenditure on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections has reached Rs 1.35 lakh crore. In this calculation, the average cost of a voter is about Rs 1400. The 2024 Lok Sabha elections can be considered the costliest elections in the history of India’s elections. Frequent elections in the country are costing Rs 4-7 lakh crore. Frequent elections consume the energy and time of the employees on elections. Not only that, frequent implementation of the model code of conduct in the continuous election process hinders policy formulation.
Various welfare schemes of the government are affected. One nation, one election will boost economic growth and reduce unexpected campaign expenses. The savings from one nation, one election are equivalent to 1.5% of the country’s GDP. This will strengthen India’s economy and governance and strengthen the country’s democratic image in the world.
State President Shri Manmohan Samal said that holding simultaneous elections will reduce huge expenditure. The remaining amount can be used for education, health, infrastructure and other development schemes. The efficiency of administration will increase and the pressure on the security forces will be reduced. This will also provide enough time for collective development.
Rajya Sabha MP Sujit Kumar Yogde said that with simultaneous elections, the administration can focus on its core duties. This will speed up development work. Due to the one nation one election process, voters will be able to cast their votes in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections on the same day and at the same time. This will increase the voting percentage. Simultaneous elections will promote coordination between the policies of the Centre and the states. As a result, long-term development plans can be implemented easily.
State Vice President Biranchi Narayan Tripathi delivered the welcome speech while Dinesh Nirikh proposed the vote of thanks. Student leaders Saubhagya Mohanty, Ankita Biswas and many student leaders from different districts were present in the interaction.
