The law Commission on Thursday released its draft report to the Government on 'One Nation, One Poll' discussion and recommended that simultaneous elections for the lok Sabha and State Assemblies should be conducted in the "greater national interest."
The 171-page draft report by the law Commission of India submitted to the law Ministry recommended amendments to the Constitution and electoral laws to allow such a massive exercise to take place. In the draft report, the law Commission said holding simultaneous elections would prevent the country from being in a "constant election mode." The law Commission chairman BS Chauhan tenure ends from Friday.
"The Commission is aware of the fact that holding simultaneous elections is not possible within the existing framework of the Constitution. Therefore, it has suggested certain inevitable constitutional amendments. The Commission has ensured that the amendments to the Constitution and other statutes are kept to the barest minimum," the draft report reads.
The draft report says further discussion is needed with all stake holders because of the complex issues involved. "In view of the complexity of the issues involved, it is desirable to have further discussions and examination on the matter, involving all the stakeholders, once again, before making final recommendations to the Government," the draft report says.
As per the draft report, an exercise of simultaneous polls would "save public money, reduce the burden on administrative setup and security forces" and would also help in a more effective implementation of the government policies. It asserted that if simultaneous elections were held, it would ensure that the administrative machinery of the country is continuously engaged in developmental activities instead of electioneering. The draft report by the law Commission pointed out that the exercise of simultaneous elections can perhaps be held from 2024. The report read, "The term of the State legislative Assemblies so constituted as a result of the elections in 2021 shall be only for thirty months or till June 2024, whichever is earlier. Thereafter, elections to the House of the People and all the State legislative Assemblies and Union Territories (with legislatures) can be held together from 2024, completely synchronising the elections."
The report released by the law Commission is a draft report, which has been published in public domain, so as to enable a larger public debate on the issue.
The recommendations of the commission are not binding on the Government, but the report will allow an informed debate among political parties and stakeholders.
The Government contends that holding polls at the national and state levels will cut down on the cost of elections in terms of both time and money. A paper by the law Commission recently recommended holding the lok Sabha and assembly polls in two phases beginning 2019.
