Making a case for simultaneous elections in India, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said Thursday that it was necessary to take “big decisions” for the country’s progress. Chouhan, Madhya Pradesh's former chief minister who was speaking at an event organised to support Narendra Modi government’s ‘One Nation, One Election’ push at the Oriental Institute in Bhopal, criticised India’s current model of elections, saying constant elections was a “hinderance to the country’s progress and development”. He also slammed politicians for taking decisions that “impact India negatively” to secure votes, also praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking “tough decisions”. "Lekin chunav ke dar mein, agar vote bigad gaya, toh nuksaan hoga. Toh vote bachao, bhaad mein jao. Kai phaisale prabhavit hote hai, bacho ki bhavishya ko behatar bana sakte hai.jo desh ko age badha sakte hai. Vote ke dar mein faisle prabhavit hote hain. (But during elections, there is always the fear of losing votes. So, to save the vote, to hell with everything else. Many decisions are influenced, even decisions that could help improve the future of our children, that could take the country forward, these decisions are affected by the fear of losing votes)". Politicians often rely on decisions that can help secure vote but would eventually impact the country adversely, he said. “Major decisions are usually thus influenced… Do this, give that and this. And it’s not just the leaders. The entire bureaucracy gets involved in the elections. Development gets significantly affected by this,” he said. He also called on the public to compel political parties “to stop the wastage of money and time, ensure development work doesn’t stall, and prevent frequent elections from obstructing the nation’s progress”. “Therefore, elections should be held once and simultaneously across the country. The time has come for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections to be conducted together," he said. Introduced in Parliament during the Winter Session, the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, proposes holding of simultaneous elections to the House of the People and all Legislative Assemblies. The Bills are currently under the scrutiny of a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
