One Nation One Election will lead to 1.5% increase in GDP: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Finance Minister at a seminar on ‘One Nation One Election’, at SRM University, near Chennai.
| Photo Credit:
BIJOY GHOSH

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman batted for the One Nation One Election (ONOE) model and highlighted that it is good for the future generations of the country, here on Saturday.

ONOE will lead to a 1.5 per cent increase in GDP or nearly ₹4.5 lakh crore, said Union FM Nirmala Sitharaman at a seminar on ONOE at SRM Institute of Science and Technology on Saturday.

ONOE will help save nearly ₹12,000 crore to the nation’s exchequer. The savings from holding ONOE can be used for various development works, she added.

The amount spent on the 2024 Lok Sabha election was ₹1 lakh crore (provisional) with nearly 10 lakh security personnel and about 25 lakh administrative staff deployed at 12 lakh polling stations, she said.

Due to frequent elections, the Model Code of Conduct is notified and for nearly three months all welfare measures are disrupted, she said. The concept of ONOE and simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections was not new. It was held in the 1960s and 1970s, she added.

“Simultaneous elections for both Lok Sabha and Assembly will happen only after 2029 when the process will be initiated by the President, and only then the Election Commission will get the power,” she said. Only in 2034, the election cycles of Lok Sabha and State Assembly will be synchronised, she added, allaying fears that simultaneous polls will happen during the next elections.

The simultaneous polls are only for Lok Sabha and Assembly. Municipal elections are excluded, she added.

“We are laying the foundation now to help the next generation,” said Sitharaman. “I urge everyone to support ONOE for the country’s growth,” she added.