Akhilesh Yadav Calls for UP Pilot Program in ‘One Nation, One Election’ Experiment

New Delhi, Sep 02, 2023: Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the Samajwadi Party, has suggested a pilot program for “one nation, one election” in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state.

This comes a day after the Indian government formed a committee, led by former president Ram Nath Kovind, to explore the feasibility of simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections across the country. Akhilesh Yadav, who is also a member of the opposition bloc INDIA, proposed this pilot program to test the capabilities of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and gauge public sentiment.

In a social media post in Hindi, Akhilesh Yadav stated, “An experiment is done before every big project, (and) on the basis of this we are suggesting that before implementing ‘One Nation-One Election’, the BJP government should try conducting Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly elections simultaneously in Uttar Pradesh.”

He believes that such an experiment would not only demonstrate the Election Commission’s capabilities but also reveal the public’s discontent with the BJP government. This move could provide insight into how eager the people are to remove the BJP from power.

The idea of simultaneous elections has been championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi since his ascent to power in 2014. He argues that it would reduce the financial burden and disruptions caused by frequent elections.

However, opposition leaders view this move as a diversionary tactic by the ruling BJP. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge emphasized that the citizens of India would not be swayed by distractions and called for a focus on the country’s pressing issues.