Kerala CM opposes 'one nation, one election'; alleges agenda to bestow unrestricted power on Centre

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed concern on Tuesday over the BJP-led union government's move to implement the 'one nation, one election' system, alleging that it was part of the "hideous agenda" of the Sangh Parivar to bestow the Centre with unhindered power.

He said that what looms large now is the severe threat to the idea of India and its parliamentary democracy, and the one nation, one election' slogan being raised by the Sangh Parivar intensifies this threat.

In a hard-hitting statement, the Left veteran exhorted democratic forces in the country to strongly resist it.

"The moves for imposing 'One Nation, One Election' reflect Sangh Parivar's hideous agenda of sabotaging our Constitutional values and democratic traditions to consolidate power. We must unite to oppose this vicious scheme and safeguard our republic's foundational principles," Vijayan said in a post on his X handle.

In the statement, he said that he suspected that an agenda is set to destabilise the state governments that refuse to bow before the Centre's diktats and find shortcuts to grab power in such states.

Such a bid by the Sangh Parivar raises questions over the significance of the Rajya Sabha, which acts as one of the mainstays of the Indian parliamentary system, the CM said, adding that it is the assembly election conducted at varied times that regularly renews the position of various political parties in the Upper House.

Hence, any move to impose the simultaneous conduct of Lok Sabha polls and assembly elections would erode the political diversity of the Rajya Sabha, he said.

He charged that the Sangh Parivar has rushed to such a move due to the fear of defeat in the five state assembly elections to be held this year.

"They are alarmed by the political reality that a setback in these states will affect the outcome of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and that the NDA will not be able to hold on to the sway at the Centre," Vijayan said.

But, inevitably, the Constitution of India and the parliamentary democratic order will not allow the country's electoral system to be dismantled as the Sangh Parivar wants, he said.

The chief minister urged the democratic forces of the country to come forward against measures aimed at destroying the diversity of the parliamentary democratic system by undermining constitutional values.

"Attempts by the Sangh Parivar to overthrow India's very existence as a democratic nation must be resisted in every sense," the Marxist party veteran further added.

The Kerala CM's statement came days after the BJP-led Centre set up a high-level committee headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind to make recommendations on the possibility of holding simultaneous elections.

The committee will examine and recommend specific amendments to the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act and any other laws and rules that would require amendments for the purpose of holding simultaneous elections.

It will also examine and recommend whether the amendments to the Constitution would require ratification by the states.

The committee will also analyse and recommend possible solutions to scenarios such as a hung House, the adoption of a no-confidence motion or defection or any such other event in case of simultaneous polls.