PNS|Vijayawada/Chennai
Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has strongly supported the ‘One Nation, One Election’ policy, stating that it is neither new to India nor to Tamil Nadu. He was speaking at a panel discussion organised by the Tamil Nadu BJP at Thiruvanmiyur in Chennai on Monday.
Citing the example of simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha elections held between 1952 and 1967, Pawan Kalyan said the policy does not harm regional parties. He pointed out that the TRS (now BRS) in Telangana and several parties in Andhra Pradesh had secured victories even when elections were held simultaneously in recent years.
He questioned the DMK’s opposition to the idea, recalling that former chief minister M Karunanidhi had once supported the concept. “Why is Chief Minister Stalin opposing a policy his father endorsed?” he asked, urging critics to read Karunanidhi’s book Nenjukku Neethi, which advocates for unified elections.
Delivering his address in Tamil, Pawan Kalyan described Tamil Nadu as the land of Lord Murugan, siddhars, great poets, and MGR, whom he called a personal inspiration. He criticised what he termed the “double standards” of political parties that praise electronic voting machines (EVMs) when they win but blame them when they lose.
Explaining the advantages of simultaneous polls, he said, “Frequent elections paralyse governance. Officials, police, and teachers are constantly diverted to poll duty, delaying public welfare schemes and increasing costs.”
The event also saw the participation of former Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai, national convenor Anil Antony, and BJP leaders Arjun Murthy and Chakravarthy.
