Cabinet approves bills for simultaneous polls under ‘One Nation, One Election’ scheme

Cabinet clears ‘One Nation One Election’ Bill in big step towards simultaneous polls

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved bills to implement ‘One Nation, One Election‘, and the draft legislations are likely to be introduced in Parliament in the ongoing Winter session. Moving ahead with its ‘One Nation, One Election’ plan, the government in September accepted the recommendations of the high-level committee for holding simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and local bodies in a phased manner. The cabinet approved the recommendations of former President Ram Nath Kovind headed the panel on One Nation One Poll.

Top 10 recommendations made by Ram Nath Kovind’s panel:

1. The government must develop a legally-tenable mechanism in order to restore the cycle of simultaneous elections.
2. In the first stage, elections for the Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies can be held together.
3. In the second step, the elections to municipalities and panchayats will be synchronized with the Lok Sabha and state assemblies in such a way that the polls to municipalities and panchayats are held within 100 days of the holding of the parliamentary and Assembly elections.
4. For the purpose of synchronizing the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, the president shall notify the date of the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election as the “appointed date”.
5. The tenure of all state assemblies formed via polls after the “appointed date” and before the expiry of the full term of the Lok Sabha will only be for the period ending up to the subsequent parliamentary polls. After this one-time transitory measure, all Lok Sabha and Assembly polls will be held simultaneously.
6. Fresh elections could be held to constitute a new Lok Sabha in the event of a hung House or a no-confidence motion or any such event.
7. Where fresh elections are held for the House of the People (Lok Sabha), the tenure of the House will be “only for the unexpired (remaining) term of the immediately preceding full term of the House”.
8. When fresh elections are held for state legislative assemblies, then such new assemblies — unless sooner dissolved — shall continue up to the end of the full term of the Lok Sabha.
9. A single electoral roll and elector’s photo identity card (EPIC) shall be prepared by the Election Commission (EC) in consultation with the state election commissions and the same will substitute any other electoral roll prepared by the EC.
10. For making logistical arrangements for the conduct of simultaneous elections, the EC may draw up a plan and estimate in advance for the procurement of equipment, such as EVMs and VVPATs, deployment of polling personnel and security forces and make other necessary arrangements.

Citing recommendations of the high-level committee, legal experts had said one of the proposed bills would seek to amend Article 82A by adding sub-clause (1) relating to the appointed date. It will also seek to insert sub-clause (2) to Article 82A relating to the end of terms of the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies together.

It also proposes to amend Article 83(2) and insert new sub-clauses (3) and (4) relating to the duration and dissolution of the Lok Sabha. It also has provisions related to the dissolution of the legislative assemblies and amending Article 327 to insert the term simultaneous elections. This bill will not require ratification by at least 50 percent of the States, the recommendation said.

However, any move to hold local body elections together with Lok Sabha and State Assemblies will require ratification by at least 50 percent of the State Assemblies as it deals with matters relating to state affairs. Another bill will be an ordinary one to amend provisions in three laws dealing with Union territories having legislative assemblies — Puducherry, Delhi ,and Jammu and Kashmir — to align the terms of these Houses with other legislative assemblies and the Lok Sabha as proposed in the first constitutional amendment bill.

The statutes it proposes to amend are the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act-1991, the Government of Union Territories Act-1963, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act-2019.

The proposed bill will be an ordinary legislation not requiring a change in the Constitution and will also not need ratification by the states.

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