State govt extends in-principle support to one nation, one poll

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has said that ‘One Nation, One Election’ is a vital part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visionary concept of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshth Bharat’. The Haryana Government extends its in-principle support to this initiative. Its effective implementation would yield multi-dimensional benefits for the country, said Saini.

The Chief Minister said this during a meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee held here on Monday. The committee is on a study tour regarding the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territory Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024. The Chairman of the committee, PP Chaudhary, MP, and several other members were present on the occasion.

Saini said frequent elections hinder development work as the administrative machinery remained engaged in the election process. Citing Haryana as an example, he said the state has undergone three major elections within the past year — the Lok Sabha elections from March to June 2024, the Assembly elections from August to October and the municipal elections from February to March 2025.

He said that due to the imposition of the model code of conduct during these elections, the pace of development was disrupted.

The Chief Minister said that ‘One Nation, One Election’ would not only save resources but also reflects the people’s sentiment that elections should be held simultaneously to avoid wastage of time and money.

Meanwhile, INLD representative Prakash Bharati extended conditional support to the concept, adding that ballot papers should be used instead of EVMs in elections.

The meeting was attended by members of Joint Parliamentary Committee Bhartruhari Mahtab, ET Mohammed Basheer, Vijay Kumar Hansdak, Yerram Venkata Subba Reddy, Ghanshyam Tiwari, P Wilson, Chandan Chauhan, Manish Tewari, Anil Yeshwant Desai, K Laxman, Saket Gokhale, Bansuri Swaraj and Chhotelal.

Haryana Tribune