Bills aimed at enabling a One Nation One election, which have been tabled in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, became the latest flashpoint between the BJP and its allies and the INDIA bloc. While the BJP and its allies supported the bills, several opposition parties, including the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the Shiv Sena (UBT), opposed them.

While a total of 32 parties support the One Nation One Election project, 15 others oppose it. Opposition supporters like YSRCP, BRS and Jagan Mohan Reddy’s AIADMK also supported the project. legislation that would allow simultaneous elections in the Lok Sabha as well as the State Assemblies.

Congress

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said his party would “strongly, totally and comprehensively” oppose the introduction of these bills. Ramesh said the BJP’s real aim was to bring a “new Constitution”. “We think it’s unconstitutional. We think it goes against the basic structure and it’s meant to stifle democracy and accountability in this country,” Ramesh said.

Shiv Sena (UBT)

Echoing the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said the bill was unconstitutional. “It is an attack on the Constitution. It is tampering with the electoral process. The BJP wants to centralize power. We do not know how cost-effective it will be. We will oppose this bill,” she said .

Samajwadi Festival

Despite its differences with the Congress on a host of issues, the Samajwadi Party has also said it will oppose the legislation. “In a way, this is another conspiracy to destroy the Constitution,” Akhilesh Yadav tweeted.

Trinamool Congress

The Trinamool Congress, another party that has recently had tense relations with the Congress, said its party would oppose the One Nation One Election Bill “tooth and nail.” “The bill will deprive people of their fundamental right to vote regularly, a right that holds governments accountable and prevents unchecked power,” TMP MP Abhishek Banerjee tweeted.

DMK

DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MP Stalin said that MPs would also oppose the billssaying the BJP’s ultimate goal was to usher in a presidential form of governance. Stalin argued that the bills, if passed, would eliminate the system of periodic national elections, thereby undermining regional sentiments.

TDP and YSR Congress SUPPORT ONE NATION, ONE ELECTION

However, the bills found support from NDA allies like Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP, JD(S) and undecideds like YSRCP.

YSRCP MP PV Mithun Reddy said the party had no problem with simultaneous polls. “We already have simultaneous national elections and general elections. We don’t have many problems. We will support the bill,” he said.

Accusing the Congress of double standards, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the country used to hold simultaneous elections during the Jawaharlal Nehru regime after the independence.

“When India gained independence, India had two decades of ‘One Nation, One Nation’ elections. It was only after Congress misused Article 356 that there had different elections…Does the Congress mean that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s government was illegal for so long?” » said Rijiju.