Cabinet accepts ‘One nation, one election’ recommendation

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved recommendations of the High-Level Committee on Simultaneous Elections and hence paving the way for ‘One nation, one election’. Sources have indicated introduction of a Bill to amend the Constitution during the Winter Session of Parliament.

“This (simultaneous election) is an important step towards making our democracy even more vibrant and participative,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in social media post. Though there is no clarity on the year of simultaneous election, Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday had said that it would happen during current term of Modi government.

The Committee, headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, recommended implementation of simultaneous election in two phases. The first phase involves conducting Lok Sabha and Assembly elections simultaneously. The second phase proposes conducting local body elections (panchayat and municipalities) within 100 days of general elections. For both phases, there is need to amend the constitution, but ratification by States on Constitutional amendments would be required only for second phase.

Giving details about Cabinet decision, Information & Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the high-level committee received support from a large number of parties on simultaneous election. But when asked that principal opposition party Congress has opposed the Cabinet decision he said: “The opposition might start feeling internal pressure (about ‘One nation, one election’) as more than 80 per cent of respondents who responded during the consultant process have given their positive support, especially the youth, they are very much in favour of this.”

Also read

Congress, other Opposition parties oppose one nation, one election

Cabinet approves establishment of NCoE for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality

• One Nation One Election: Same party can get most seats in both assembly and Lok Sabha in simultaneous elections   

Building consensus

He informed that following the recommendations, the government will initiate detailed discussions throughout the country. Post this and after building consensus, the government will draft a Bill, place it before the Cabinet and subsequently, take it to Parliament for simultaneous polls to come into effect, he said while adding, “A common electoral roll will be made for all elections. Also, an implementation group will be formed to take forward the recommendations of the Kovind panel.”

The country had simultaneous elections between 1951 and 1967 but thereafter, polls started getting dispersed due to various reasons, including mid-term elections. Holding all polls simultaneously will require a lot of maneuvering, including advancing some elections and delaying some others. While the Lok Sabha polls were held in May-June this year, states like Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh also went to polls along with the parliamentary election.

• ‘One Nation, One Election’ panel seeks public input on simultaneous polls framework

The Assembly election process for Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana is currently underway, while Maharashtra and Jharkhand are also scheduled to go to polls later this year. Delhi and Bihar are among the States that are scheduled to go to polls in 2025. The terms of the current Assemblies in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry will end in 2026, while the terms of the Goa, Gujarat, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Assemblies will end in 2027. The terms of the State Assemblies in Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Telangana will end in 2028. The terms of the current Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies that went to polls together this year will end in 2029.