"India's economy will be strengthened if One Nation, One Election is implemented": BJP MP Yogendra Chandolia

New Delhi [India], April 20 (ANI): BJP MP Yogendra Chandolia on Sunday supported the idea of "One Nation, One Election", saying its implementation would help strengthen India's economy.

Speaking to ANI, Chandolia said, "From 1952 to 1967, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha elections were held simultaneously. After that, this tradition was broken. In the last 30 years, there has not been a single year when elections were not held. This weakens our economic development. It affects the country's economy, GDP... Crores of rupees are spent on elections, so if One Nation, One Election is implemented, India's economy will be strengthened."
BJP MLA Karnail Singh also supported the proposal, saying it would help save public money that could be used for development.
Speaking to ANI, Singh said, "A roadmap has been made. This should not only be the agenda of the political parties but should also come from the public. It will save people's and the government's money. Lakhs and crores of money are used for the elections. So, it (one nation one election) will save money for development. That's why it is important."
Earlier in the day, the BJP held a legislative party meeting at its headquarters in New Delhi to discuss the "One Nation, One Election" idea.
The meeting was led by BJP's National General Secretary Sunil Bansal, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva, and State Organisation General Secretary Pawan Rana. It was attended by Delhi BJP MLAs including Yogendra Chandolia and Kamaljeet Sehrawat, State General Secretary Vishnu Mittal, former Delhi BJP President Satish Upadhyay, Delhi Government Ministers Dr. Pankaj Singh and Ravindra Indraraj, Delhi Coordinator for One Nation, One Election Gajendra Yadav, Co-coordinator Ashok Goel Devrha, Yogendra Lakda, and other party officials.
After the meeting, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva told the media that "One Nation, One Election" is a national need.
He said, "Through today's workshop, we received guidance from National General Secretary Sunil Bansal, and we discussed how to turn One Nation, One Election into a national campaign."
Sachdeva said that holding elections frequently affects the country's progress. "If you look at the data from the past 30 years, you'll find that elections are held in some state or the other every year, and state elections are also held alongside the Lok Sabha elections every five years. This creates many problems in the electoral process," he said.
He added that repeated elections waste a lot of time, money, and resources. "For example, in the last Lok Sabha elections, about one crore (10 million) government employees were involved in the election process. If we want to turn India into a developed nation, we need to conserve our resources, money, and time. Every time the Model Code of Conduct is enforced, developmental work comes to a halt."
Sachdeva said that the BJP will take this campaign to every household in Delhi and launch an awareness drive to explain its benefits. He pointed out that simultaneous elections were already held in the past.
"From 1952 to 1967, elections were held simultaneously. It was only after a government collapse in 1968 that the system broke down. Hence, a One Nation, One Election is needed by the country." (ANI)