Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants his country to move to a fixed election schedule, with the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament), state assemblies, and local bodies all elected on the same date every five years. But his “One Nation, One Election” vision is as impractical as it is undemocratic.
NEW DELHI – One saving grace of Indian democracy – though some call it one of India’s troubling flaws – is that there is practically always an election happening. So, just as the echoes of the last general election – which kept Prime Minister Narendra Modi in office, but without a majority and leading a coalition government – died down, the state of Haryana and the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir went to the polls to elect their legislatures. The results, announced last week, surprised politicians and pollsters alike.
NEW DELHI – One saving grace of Indian democracy – though some call it one of India’s troubling flaws – is that there is practically always an election happening. So, just as the echoes of the last general election – which kept Prime Minister Narendra Modi in office, but without a majority and leading a coalition government – died down, the state of Haryana and the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir went to the polls to elect their legislatures. The results, announced last week, surprised politicians and pollsters alike.