JSPES, Vol. 44, No. 1-2 (Spring-Summer 2019)
pp. 110-120

The Desirability of One Nation One Election in India: Simultaneous Elections  

Arun Kumar Kaushik
Yugank Goyal
O. P. Jindal Global University
Haryana, India

In this essay, we examine the dynamics of the proposed one-nation, one-election plan of BJP which has already attracted sizable criticisms. Unlike most other public discourses today, which are unfortunately and unsurprisingly focused on the debater rather than the debate itself, we look at raw electoral data and the rigor of the claims made on both the sides. Our preliminary finding is that there is no reason to snub the proposal off, but a careful re-engineering of the proposal to make it workable, and more importantly, palatable. The essay also reviews the style and formation of public debates in India, using the proposal as an example.