'Mr Modi does not have majority to...': Chidambaram says 'One nation, one election' not possible under present Constitution

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday said the 'one nation, one election' is not possible under the present Constitution and requires at least five constitutional amendments. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not have the numbers to place those constitutional amendments either in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. 

India Today on Sunday reported that the NDA government is likely to bring a bill for 'One Nation, One Election' during its current tenure at the Centre.

"'One nation, one election' is not possible under the present Constitution. It requires at least five constitutional amendments," Chidambaram said while speaking to reporters. "Mr Modi does not have the majority to put those constitutional amendments in either in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha." 

The former finance minister said that there were greater constitutional obstacles to 'one nation, one election'. "It is not possible. The INDIA bloc is totally opposed to 'one nation, one election." 

The One Nation One Election has been one of the BJP's key promises in its Lok Sabha election manifesto. In his Independence Day address last month, the prime minister made a strong pitch for 'one nation, one election', contending that frequent polls were creating hurdles in the country's progress. 

"I request everyone to come together to achieve the resolve of 'One Nation One Election', which is the need of the hour," PM Modi had said.

While speaking to India Today ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the PM batted for shorter election cycles, saying that politics should not dominate the entirety of a five-year term. "I always say that elections should be held only for three or four months. Politics should not be done for all five years," he had said, adding that it would "save logistics expenditure".

Chidambaram also rejected Prime Minister Modi's allegation that the Congress wanted to end reservation. "Why should we abolish reservation?. We are the ones who are saying that the reservation ceiling of 50 per cent must be removed. We are the ones who are asking for a caste census," the former minister said.