'One nation, one election' is cost-effective and governance-friendly, says Goa CM Pramod Sawant

Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has termed as "historic" the Union cabinet's approval of the 'one nation, one election' proposal, and claimed that the move will be cost-effective and governance-friendly.

The Union cabinet on Wednesday accepted the recommendations of a high-level committee headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind for holding simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies in a phased manner after a countrywide consensus-building exercise.

Talking to PTI on Friday, CM Sawant said, "I welcome 'one nation, one election'. It is a historic decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has taken several historic decisions, including the abrogation of Article 370." "Frequently-held elections result in the breakdown of governance due to the model code of conduct. But holding elections pan-India at one time for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies will save the nation from frequently imposed code of conduct," he said.

The move is also cost-efficient, he said.

"Frequent elections increase expenditure. But a one-time election will reduce it and that will indirectly benefit the government and people," Sawant said.

Frequent elections also cause obstructions in governance and create hurdles in development projects, which will be avoided in the proposed system, he said.

"Conducting elections once in five years will help in smooth administrative decisions," he added.

"The voter turnout will increase if elections are conducted once every five years. 'One nation, one election' will contribute towards the country's development," the chief minister said.