Harish Salve Explains Why ONOP Will Give India's GDP A Critical Push | Exclusive

New Delhi: Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India and King's Counsel, UK, Harish Salve, has strongly advocated for the implementation of 'One Nation, One Election' (ONOE). According to Salve, frequent elections in India significantly impact the country's GDP, resulting in a loss of around 1%. In an exclusive conversation with Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami , Salve emphasised that the substantial logistics and financial investments required for each election adversely affect India's GDP. He believes that the ONOE proposal can effectively minimize these negative implications on the nation's growth. 

Highlighting that the theory behind the ONOE proposal lies in its measurement of the economic implications of frequent elections, Salve stated, “The good sense behind the proposal of 'One Nation, One Poll' is in the number of chapters where the implications of having frequent elections in one state or the other have been measured in economic terms.” 

While responding to Arnab Goswami's question on how ‘One Nation, One Election’, will impact the nation's electoral process, the former Solicitor General of India, drew an example from the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections, and said, “Let's just talk about elections in Maharashtra. Not a single senior member of the Cabinet missed, I mean people who matter missed being. In Maharashtra, how many days of work of ministries of functions of vital importance was taken away.”

“Similarly senior members of the Parliament of the opposition parties were busy campaigning when maybe they could have been in Parliament of their own constituencies. So it has an impact on GDP, plus you have the Model Code which comes into play, decisions are not announced and then you have this competitive, liberalism of freebie culture. Every time there's an election, there are more and more freebies,” Salve said.  

The Senior Supreme Court advocate, while explaining the economical impact, in context with the frequent elections, further added, “There are so many different dimensions, if you have one good consolidated election. It's a very myopic view to say, it's only 5,000 crores or 10,000 crores, that's the cost of the election. But believe me, when you go into the analysis, it's the least relevant factor.”

“The amount of deployment of civil servants in the election exercise, so many things get stuck up because some senior officers have been deployed somewhere. Now, if you calculate the effect of all this disruption on the gross domestic product, we have an econometric model done, it makes a difference of 1%.” Now, 1% of India's GDP is a massive figure. So this is the good sense behind the decision to say,” Salve emphasized.  

Union Cabinet Approved Simultaneous Elections Bill

On Thursday, the Union Cabinet approved the much-anticipated 'One Nation, One Election' (ONOE) bill during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi . Now, after the nod from the Union Cabinet, the bill is likely to be tabled in the Parliament during the ongoing Winter Session. The step marks a significant move by the BJP -led central government towards implementing simultaneous elections for both the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

The government has reiterated that with elections held separately for the central and state governments, the country faces multiple rounds of elections each year, consuming significant resources, money and time. However, after the electoral processes are streamlined, it will reduce the financial burden, and enhance governance.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has reportedly issued a three-line whip to all its MPs, asking them to be present in the House on December 13 and 14 for discussions on some important legislative issues. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, on Wednesday, made a strong pitch for ‘one nation, one election’, and contended that frequent polls were creating hurdles in the nation’s progress.

What is ‘One Nation, One Election’

The ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill, is a significant step towards synchronising elections in the country. The idea focuses on holding simultaneous elections for both the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies across the nation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been a strong proponent of this concept for a long time. At present, elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies are held separately, either after the completion of a five-year term or when a government is dissolved for various reasons.

The decision is based on recommendations made by a high-level committee led by former president Ram Nath Kovind. The committee was incepted on September 2 last year. The committee, which played a crucial role in crafting the report, also included eminent members such as Union Home Minister Amit Shah , Ghulam Nabi Azad, Harish Salve, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and others.

Notably, in September 2024, the Union Cabinet approved the proposal for ‘One Nation, One Election’, paving the way for tabling the bill in the Parliament. The Cabinet accepted the report submitted by the panel headed by Ram Nath Kovind.

In March 2024, the committee under the former President submitted a comprehensive 18,626-page report to President Droupadi Murmu , culminating 191 days of continuous consultations, expert opinions, and research since the formation of the panel.

Pertinently, simultaneous elections were the norm in India until 1967. The ONOE proposal aims to bring back this practice, reducing election-related costs, improving administrative efficiency, and minimising the frequency of election-related disruptions.

Benefits Of 'One Nation, One Election'

The simultaneous elections are expected to remove a massive electoral financial burden. The current system of separate elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies imposes a heavy financial burden on the government and political parties, as multiple election campaigns require extensive funding for advertisements, rallies, and logistics, often leading to the diversion of resources.

Holding separate elections multiple times a year leads to repeated logistical challenges. With ONOE, these resources can be utilized more efficiently, as the election machinery will be deployed just once.

As elections approach, government officials and politicians are often diverted to election duties, leaving ongoing projects and policies in limbo. By reducing the frequency of elections, ONOE ensures greater stability in governance.

Importantly, the Election Commission incurs significant costs in conducting elections, which can be reduced significantly by holding elections simultaneously across the country will reduce these recurring expenses.