CM welcomes ‘one nation one election’ proposal

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday welcomed the Union Cabinet’s approval of ‘one nation, one election’ proposal.The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal for ‘one nation, one election’ as recommended by a panel headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

“The approval of #OneNationOneElection by the Union Cabinet under the leadership of the illustrious Prime Minister of India Shri @narendramodi is a significant and welcome step,” Majhi said in a post on X.

“Along with bringing political stability, it will also give a new direction to the economic development of the country. We heartily thank the Honourable Prime Minister for such a historic decision,” he said. Majhi also said ‘one nation, one election’ will strengthen the security of the country and increase the pace of development.

The Opposition BJD’s spokesperson, Lenin Mohanty, said much before the Cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi passed the proposal, the BJD had successfully implemented simultaneous polls in Odisha.

“In 2004, the BJD went for the elections after the completion of just four years to implement simultaneous polls,” he told reporters. Mohanty claimed that many things had been passed by the BJP government in the past but were never implemented.

The high-level Kovind committee had recommended simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies as the first step followed by synchronised local body polls within 100 days.

The panel had also proposed setting up of an ‘Implementation Group’ to look into the execution of the recommendations made by the committee.It also recommended the preparation of a common electoral roll and voter ID cards by the Election Commission of India in consultation with State election authorities.