Making One Nation One Election Work

On the face of it, the odds against the rollout of the One Nation, One Election plan (ONOE) look daunting. But a lot of work has gone into the proposal and an implementation committee, expected to include senior ministers like Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, will grapple with the logistical and legislative issues. The idea is to implement the ONOE plan on a national scale rather than doing it in instalments. This means state Assemblies, wherever terms are cut short to synchronise elections, will need to accept truncated tenures. Further, states where elections are due, say two-and-a-half years before the ONOE cut-off, will have to make do with a shorter term in office, turning the elected government into T20 players. The logistics are mind-boggling and there will be costs, too, in ensuring a single, updated electoral roll. The plan to further coordinate elections to local bodies will require the electoral rolls used in state and Lok Sabha elections to be acceptable and certified at the grassroots. The electoral roll for local bodies and panchayat elections are often prepared with less rigour. The local officials are often the final say in finalising the rolls. Then there is the central question of political consensus, with Congress and other members of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc opposing every decision of the Modi government. BJP managers agree the task is not easy, but feel there is more support for ONOE among state leaders than at the national level in Opposition ranks. They also explain there are various ways in which “opposition” to the proposal can play out. There are parties who will vote against the plan under any circumstance. Then there are others who can be won over and still others who may oppose but can stage a walkout rather than vote against the relevant Bills. The government is committed to taking ONOE forward. Major allies JD(U) and TDP are on board. The Andhra Pradesh election cycle has in any case been in sync with the Lok Sabha elections since 2004. The non-I.N.D.I.A. bloc can be worked on. The numbers of parties like BJD and YSRCP have declined but will count. There are parties with just a few MPs or even single members who will matter. Old timers recall that the India-US nuclear deal looked impossible with the Left, with 61 seats in Lok Sabha and a key UPA 1 component, dead opposed to the deal. Yet, the Congress leadership pulled a rabbit out of its hat by jettisoning the Left and inducting SP into UPA.

Plastic Problem

The railway ministry has stepped up its efforts to monitor cleanliness on trains that no longer resemble their predecessors which were just aluminium contraptions opening on to tracks underneath. Though waste disposal is accorded high priority, railway authorities are grappling with the problem of plastic bottles jamming toilets. Once plastics are dumped into the toilet on a moving train, there is no remedy for at least the next 300-400km. The railways are planning promotional videos that highlight the problem. The authorities are hoping promotional material on trains and stations will make an impact and improve public awareness. They are pleased with the number of vlogs being posted on social media, including many by foreign visitors, about the comforts on new high-speed trains. The videos have been made without any prompting or assistance from the railways and are widely viewed on social media, their positive impact a refreshing change from old gripes. The ministry is looking to further improve its hot meals by adding options and tweaking flavours. The meal portions being served are substantial and there is a steady stream of snacks that can be bought.

Calming Maharashtra Nerves

BJP managers are hopeful that dissensions in the Maharashtra unit over the alliance with Ajit Pawar’s NCP will subside. Friction between cadres and supporters of the two parties cost BJP in the Lok Sabha polls but party workers seem to recognise that a high-stakes Assembly election is on cards. The BJP leadership is emphasising that partners are needed to take on the Sharad Pawar-Congress-Uddhav Sena combine and it is time to look at larger interests and forget past animosities. After weeks of churning following the sub-par performance in the General Election, the ruling Mahayuti alliance is getting down to the hard task of identifying seats and allocating shares. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is proving to be hands-on and does not hesitate to meet voters. The opposition has its share of problems, with all three constituents eyeing the chief minister’s chair. Pawar would like his political legatee Supriya Sule to take over, Congress state chief Nana Patole is thinking big with the party winning the most Lok Sabha seats, and Uddhav Thackeray is unwilling to give up his quest to become the primary pole of the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

RDX In Pagers

All it took was three grams of RDX explosive placed inside pagers to kill and injure hundreds of Hezbollah cadres and commanders in Lebanon. The incident, apart from invoking widespread astonishment over the intelligence breach that allowed Israel to turn the pagers into deadly bombs, is being examined by security experts the world over for its technicalities. As it turns out, priming the pagers is not rocket science and can be done without much fuss once the instruments are accessed. Apart from the RDX placed inside a small button-sized device, a trigger that responds to a remote signal is set alongside it. The circuitry inside a pager has sufficient space for the additions which are too tiny to be detected by most scanners. This is causing some concern to security agencies that are also looking at the vulnerabilities of mobile phones. Ironically, Hezbollah had switched to pagers because mobile phones were seen to be susceptible to interception, allowing trackers to triangulate their precise locations. The pager strike is the second successful one against Iran and its proxies after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a safehouse in Tehran.

Policing the Tracks

Instances of alleged sabotage with iron rods and gas cylinders placed on railway tracks are being investigated for possible sabotage. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is not looking to endorse any theory at present but has directed officials to consider options to remotely monitor tracks. He is of the view that while police investigations will follow their course, Indian Railways needs to make itself as failproof as possible. He points out there is a steep dip in the rate of accidents and derailments as compared to the UPA years and this is not just because of expected improvements over time. The railways are looking at fibre optic networks which will detect objects and disruptions, sensors that can monitor changes in pressure when a weight is placed on tracks and CCTV to the extent possible. A combination of such measures in areas prone to tracks being interfered with can help control and even expose the perpetrators.

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