Jaipur, Apr 18 (PTI) One nation, one election is not just a political idea but a revolutionary step towards strengthening India’s democratic system and providing stability to the governance system, the BJP’s Rajasthan unit chief Madan Rathore said on Friday.

“Regular elections not only lead to huge waste of economic resources but public welfare schemes come to a halt due to frequent enforcement of the model code of conduct,” he said.

Government officials, employees and the administrative machinery get busy with elections, bringing development work to a halt, and the loss is directly borne by the public, he added.

Rathore was speaking at the launch of the digital one nation, one election campaign in the state at the BJP office. A special QR code was released that people can scan to register their support.

Rathore said continuity of the democratic process had been disrupted after Lok Sabha and assembly elections started being held separately.

Article 356 of the Constitution was misused many times to topple state governments, damaging the federal structure, the BJP leader alleged.

Expressing concern over the frequency of elections, Rathore said, “Due to this, the focus of the central and the state governments shifts from development to electoral strategies. It affects the daily routine of police, administration and institutions.” Explaining the benefits of one nation, one election, he said governments would be able to work with stability if simultaneous elections were held.

“This will bring coherence in policymaking, quicken the pace of development and there will be extensive resource saving. These resources can be invested in education, health, rural development and infrastructure,” he said.

The BJP state president said this reform was not the responsibility of the government or any political party but the country’s collective responsibility.

“Unless there is support and cooperation of the public, no such reform can be successful at the ground level,” he added. PTI SDA SZM SZM