Jaipur, August 30 — BJP National General Secretary Sunil Bansal on Saturday described the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal as a transformative reform for India’s social and economic fabric. Addressing a student leaders’ convention in Jaipur, he urged that the initiative should move beyond seminars and awareness campaigns to become a mass movement ensuring clean and fair elections.
“This is not a new idea,” Bansal said, recalling that India held simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections for nearly 20 years after Independence. “The problem of frequent elections started after 1967. For the past three decades, there has not been a single year without elections somewhere in the country,” he added.
He cited Maharashtra as a telling example, stating that in the last five years the state was under the Model Code of Conduct for 300 days — almost an entire year — hampering governance. “The real issue is not about winning elections, but working for the people after them. Frequent polls do not give leaders space to govern or focus on public welfare,” he noted.
Bansal also highlighted the massive financial cost of repeated elections. He said the recent Lok Sabha elections alone cost Rs 1.35 lakh crore, with an average expenditure of Rs 1,400 per vote. “Over a five-year period, election-related spending can rise to Rs 5 to 7 lakh crore. More than one crore personnel are deployed during elections, disrupting governance for at least three months every time,” he explained.
Calling ‘One Nation, One Election’ a national reform, Bansal asserted that it is not Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s agenda but the agenda of the people. He argued that a unified electoral system would also encourage greater youth participation in politics and weaken dynastic strongholds.
Taking a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Bansal accused him of misleading the public about voter rolls. “The Constitution gives every citizen the right to vote, but in states like Bengal, illegal names have found their way into the lists. With ‘One Nation, One Election’, there will be a single unified voter list, ensuring transparency and fairness,” he said.
Concluding his address, Bansal called for widespread public support. “Let our movement be so strong that even leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, and M.K. Stalin are afraid to oppose it,” he declared.
The Jaipur convention was part of the BJP’s larger outreach drive on the ‘One Nation, One Election’ initiative, aimed at streamlining India’s electoral system, cutting costs, and improving governance efficiency.
