Implement it in 2024, not 2019: Minister

After participating in a convocation function in a private engineering college in Kovilpatti, Kadambur Raju, while addressing the media, said that the Union government is trying to push its agenda of ‘One Nation, One Election’ principle in the coming 2019 Parliamentary election itself and it cannot be accepted.

The system of conducting simultaneous elections existed during the times of former chief minister MG Ramachandran and continued till 1996. However, the Union government formed in 1996 was not stable and was dissolved within two years which lead to election and change in the pattern. “Now, the government of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa was elected in 2016 and during the election campaign various promises were made to the people. Still three years are left for the rule and if election is conducted now we could not implement all the schemes and cannot answer the people, who had voted for us,” he said. Though their party in principle accepts ‘One Nation, One Election’ policy it should not be implemented in 2019 and should be postponed for 2024, said Kadambur Raju.

Meanwhile, MDMK leader, Vaiko, while addressing the media, in Chennai, said that India is a sub-continent constituted by various ethnic groups and the policy of ‘One Nation, One Election’ will not be suitable to a democratic country like India.

Also, the mindset of people voting for the formation of Union and state governments would be entirely differently and many factors would come into play.

“In my view, conducting elections simultaneously throughout the country is not a viable option for democracy,” Vaiko noted.

Reacting on the issue, BJP state unit president Tamilisai Soundararajan in Chennai said that conducting elections simultaneously will reduce costs and it will help in taking quick administrative decisions. However, BJP does not force anything on parties and people and so the final decision will be taken after consultation with all the parties, said Tamilisai.