Simultaneous polls will be milestone for achieving 'Viksit Bharat' Shivraj Chouhan

    New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) 'One nation, one election' will be a milestone towards achieving the goal of 'Viksit Bharat' or developed India, Union Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Tuesday, as he gave a call to people to come out in support of the proposal.
    Speaking at an event organised by 'Panchjanya', a magazine associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Chouhan said the whole government machinery halts at the time of elections, and frequent polls have become a major disruptor for governments to take decisions in public interest.
    Asked about the proposal to hold simultaneous polls that is under the scrutiny of a joint parliamentary panel, Chouhan said, "The makers of our Constitution made a provision for elections every five years, but they never thought that Article 356 will be misused so many times. Elections were held together till 1968 because till 1966, Congress had governments everywhere. When other parties started coming to power, they were toppled."
    "At present, there is some election or the other all the time. Now Delhi is going to polls, then it will be Bihar. Political parties are only preparing for elections 365 days, they are not able to work in public interest.
    "The agriculture minister has to leave his work and focus on elections of a state... How much time does that waste," said Chouhan, who was BJP's election in-charge for Jharkhand during the Assembly polls held last year.
    "Should nothing happen in the country apart from elections? These continuous elections are the biggest barriers in India's development. Looking at the situation today, this (simultaneous polls) is an appropriate step," he added.
    Asked about the opposition to the proposal on holding simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities and panchayats from a number of parties, Singh said they should all agree as the move is in national interest.
    "Any patriot who thinks in national interest would realise that continuous elections have become a disaster for the nation. If elections happen once in five years, people would also be excited," the senior BJP leader said.
    "This is the demand of the people. People should take oath supporting simultaneous elections, organisations should pass resolutions in its support," Singh suggested.
    He also said that voters are mature and they even vote for different parties in assembly and Lok Sabha polls even if they are held together, citing Odisha as an example.
    Referring to Delhi, where assembly polls will be held on February 5, Chouhan expressed confidence that the BJP would win this time.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)