EC ready for 'One Nation, One Poll': CEC Sunil Arora

New Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora has said that the ECI is ready to implement 'One Nation, One Election' system in the country. This comes nearly a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched for the new system.

According to a report in News18, Arora said, "We are ready for that. After all broad amendments (in laws) by the legislature, Election Commission of India (ECI) is ready for the One Nation One Poll."

The Prime Minister in November raised the pitch for "One Nation, One Election" and a single voter list for all polls in order to prevent the impact of the model code of conduct on development works every few months due to frequent spread-out polls.

"Elections are held at different places every few months, the impact it has on development works is known to all. Therefore, it is a must to have deep study and deliberation on 'One Nation, One Election'," Modi said.

The PM also suggested a single voters' list for Lok Sabha, assembly and panchayat polls, saying separate lists are a waste of resources.

Legislature, Executive and Judiciary should work with better coordination and national interest should be the basis for every decision, Modi said. "We must remember that when politics take over people and nation-first policies, the nation has to pay adversely in such situations," he said.

Arora's statement is crucial as the responsibility of conducting elections in the country lies with the Election Commission of India.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, headed by E M Sudarsana Natchiappan, in 2015 also recommended simultaneous elections.

In 2018, the Law Commission in its draft report recommended that all elections in a calendar year be conducted together.

Many opposition parties, including the Congress, are not in favour of the system. The Congress has termed it an 'impractical' idea