Wrong notion: On simultaneous elections
The idea of simultaneous elections is inherently anti-federal Notwithstanding the opposition from political parties and many in civil society to the idea of simultaneous elections, the Union government has decided to accept the recommendations of a high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to go ahead with the scheme. The committee envisaged simultaneous Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections as the first step, followed by municipal and panchayat polls within 100 days of the general election. In order to do so, the government would need to get constitutional amendments to be passed, in Parliament and in the State Assemblies. Two key reasons have been evinced for the proposal — first, the costs of conducting these elections would be significantly reduced if held together, and, second, not having simultaneous elections has kept political parties in prolonged campaign mode, impacting governance and legislative work. There has been little to no empirical data to support the first reason. Already, general elections take an inordinately long time, with some State polls being held in phases. Simultaneous elections could prolong this process. One of the committee’s recommendations is that if a State Assembly gets dissolved before five years of its term, after the “appointed date” — the date for synchronising Lok Sabha and Assembly elections — fresh “midterm” elections will be held but the new Assembly’s will not have a full five-year tenure. Its tenure will end five years from the “appointed date”. This provision militates against the original idea of cost cutting through simultaneous elections. It is also an anti-federal idea.In a multi-tiered governance system, people choose their representatives based on their perception of who is best suited. The power being demarcated for different levels of government allows for distinct roles for each representative and suggests varied voter choices that could be based on party affiliation, candidate strength, ideological positions or socio-economic reasons that are constituency-specific. Each tier has its exclusive importance and so does the election. The second reason, that representatives are in perennial campaign mode and, therefore, polls to every tier should all be held during the same period, is problematic. For one, that national representatives of parties are forever in campaign mode is a consequence of the centralising tendencies of parties that are in power today and is not a reflection of the extant electoral democratic system. Second, subsuming multi-tier elections into simultaneous mode has the potential to reduce the importance of each tier, especially the Assembly and municipal/panchayat levels, and is anti-federal. Lastly, to effect this proposal, the tenures of quite a few State governments will have to be cut short. Parties and civil society actors committed to federalism must squarely reject this proposal by the Union government.
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Notion (noun) – Idea, belief, concept, perception, understanding
अवधारणा
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Simultaneous (adjective) – Occurring at the same time, concurrent, synchronous, coexistent, parallel
एक ही समय में होनेवाला
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Inherently (adverb) – naturally, intrinsically, fundamentally, essentially
स्वाभाविक रूप से
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Anti-federal (adjective) – Opposing the federal principle or system of government,
संघ-विरोधी
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Notwithstanding (preposition) – Despite, in spite of, regardless of, even with, although
इसके बावजूद
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Envisage (verb) – Foresee, predict, anticipate, contemplate, imagine
कल्पना करना
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Follow (verb) – Happen after
के बाद होना
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In order to (phrase) – With the purpose /intention of doing something
ताकि
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amendment (noun) – correction, emendation, improvement, enhancement संशोधन
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Evince (verb) – Show, demonstrate, display, manifest, reveal
प्रदर्शित करना
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Prolonged (adjective) – Continuing for a long time or longer than usual; lengthy. लंबा
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Empirical (adjective) – Based on observation or experience, evidence-based, experimental, factual
अनुभवसिद्ध
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Inordinately (adverb) – Excessively, overly, unusually, disproportionately
अत्यधिक
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Prolong (verb) – Extend, lengthen, delay, stretch
लंबा करना
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Dissolve (verb) – Disband, terminate, end, conclude, close
भंग करना
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Synchronise (verb) – Harmonize, bring into line, make tally, match
साथ-साथ होना
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Provision (noun) – A stipulated condition
प्रावधान
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Militate against (phrasal verb) – Oppose, hinder, resist, counteract, work against.
विरोध करना
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Multi-tiered (adjective) – Layered, multi-level, hierarchical, stratified
बहु-स्तरीय
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Governance (noun) – The action or manner of governing a state, organization, etc.
शासन
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Perception (noun) – View, opinion, picture, assessment, insight
धारणा
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Demarcate (verb) – Separate, distinguish, define, delimit, mark off
सीमा निर्धारित करना
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Varied (adjective) – Diverse, assorted, different, dissimilar, heterogeneous
विविध
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Affiliation (noun) – Association, relationship, connection, attachment, link
संबद्धता
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Ideological (adjective) – doctrinal, philosophical, theoretical, dogmatic
वैचारिक
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Socio-economic (adjective) – Relating to society and economy, social and economic
सामाजिक-आर्थिक
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Perennial (adjective) – Constant, enduring, perpetual, long-lasting, recurring
लगातार
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Problematic (adjective) – difficult, hard, problematical, taxing, troublesome
समस्यात्मक
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Consequence (noun) – result, effect, outcome, upshot
परिणाम
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Centralise (verb) – Concentrate, unify, consolidate, bring together, centralize
केंद्रीकृत करना
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Tendency (noun) – inclination, propensity, likelihood
प्रवृत्ति
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Reflection (noun) – Replication, echo, mirroring, Image
प्रतिबिंब/परछाई
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Extant (adjective) – Existing, current, present, surviving, in existence
वर्तमान
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Subsume (verb) – Include, incorporate, absorb, encompass
सम्मिलित करना
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Potential (noun) – capability, capacity, ability, power
क्षमता
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Cut short (phrase) – to end (something) earlier than expected
स्वाभाविक समय के पहले अंत कर देना
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Effect (verb) – Implement, make happen, bring about, create
कार्यान्वित करना
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Committed (to) (adjective) – wholeheartedly dedicated. प्रतिबद्ध
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Federalism (noun) – democratism, socialism, unionism, unitarianism,
संघवाद
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Squarely (adverb) – Directly, firmly, squarely, straightforwardly, unambiguously
स्पष्ट रूप से