ONE NATION, ONE ELECTION: CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM OR DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGE?

India is the world's largest democracy. We have over 96 crore registered voters. We speak hundreds of languages. We have 28 states, 8 union territories, and governments at three levels central, state, and local. Elections here are not just a process; they are a festival, a right, and a responsibility but here is something worth thinking about: between 2019 and 2024, India held elections in almost every major state at different points in time. That means somewhere in the country, there was almost always a state going through election mode. Campaigns. Rallies. The Model Code of Conduct. Government schemes on pause. Officials deployed for election duty. This is precisely the problem that One Nation, One Election (ONOE) is trying to solve by holding elections for the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies together, at the same time, in a single electoral cycle.