<p>Union Home Minister Amit Shah dismissed the claims that the One Nation One Election would benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday and also refuted that the bill undermines the principles of federalism. </p>
<p>He defended the party’s pitch for holding simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, arguing that the election system does not favour the BJP. </p>
<p>He gave examples of the 2014 and 2019 polls where simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and some state legislative assemblies including Odisha and Andhra Pradesh took place. While the BJP secured a sweeping mandate in Lok Sabha in both the polls, it was left biting dust in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. </p>
<p>”One Nation One Election is not a new thing. Three elections in this country were conducted under the One Nation One Election method. In 1952, all elections were held simultaneously,” Shah said, reported India Today. </p>
<p>”In 1957, although elections were scheduled for different dates, the assemblies of eight states were dissolved, enabling simultaneous elections. Even after this, the third election was conducted largely following the One Nation, One Election approach,” he added. </p>
<p>”It was stopped after former PM Jawaharlal Nehru broke the CPI(M) government in Kerala, followed by Indira Gandhi’s practise of breaking the government on a larger scale. Even in 1971, just to win elections, the Lok Sabha was dissolved before time. This is when the mismatch started and elections began taking place separately,” the Union Minister said.</p>
<p>Responding to the allegations that the One Nation One Election would benefit the BJP, Shah said: “This is absolutely wrong. Assembly elections and Lok Sabha polls in Odisha were conducted together, but the BJP lost. In 2019, we got a massive mandate across the country, but we lost in Andhra Pradesh”.</p>
<p>Shah’s remark came hours after the Union Cabinet gave the nod to the One Nation One Election bill. The bill is expected to be tabled in the Parliament next week. </p>