Model Question and Answers for APSC | ‘Simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies will limit the amount of time and money spent in electioneering but it will reduce the government’s accountability to the people’ Discuss.

Ans: A Law Commission internal working paper has recommended holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies in two phases beginning in 2019, as the government seeks to implement the idea of "one nation, one election."

Benefits of simultaneous elections

• Money saver: Every time an election is conducted lots of government exchequer is being spent for law and order at the election time, deployment of security forces, procurement of voter machines etc.
• Reduce party election expenses
• Save time for development work
• Better utilisation of security forces
• Improve governance of election commission

Problems of simultaneous election:

• Hindrance for federal structure
• Dominance of central parties: In the case of simultaneous polls, the top priorities of the country, which is of course, the issues of national interest will be given priority, while the state issues will be in cold storage.
• Voter's displeasure: If the simultaneous election comes in place, the right of a voter to exercise her choice twice in a span of five years will reduce.
• A simultaneous election can foster dictatorial tendencies in the government despite the fact that it is advantageous from a financial This is because the government is less accountable to the Lok Sabha or the state assembly because it cannot be overthrown even after losing the confidence of the House.

Therefore, other options should be investigated to reduce election-related costs in order to enhance governance and cut costs. The key conclusions include things like implementing state funding for elections, decriminalising politics, and even connecting Aadhaar cards to election identity cards for transparency.