The Centre’s call for ‘One Nation One, Election’ inched closer to realise its dreams of simultaneous polls by paving the way to table the proposal in the Parliament next week after the Union Cabinet on Thursday approved two bills, including one to amend the Constitution to implement ‘One Nation, One Election’. Sources said the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave nod to draft legislations to hold simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies only.

While a high-level committee led by former president Ram Nath Kovind had also proposed holding the municipality and panchayat polls along with the national and state elections in a phased manner, the Cabinet decided not to touch the subject currently.

The Constitution Amendment Bill to hold simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies will not require ratification by at least 50 per cent of the states, the sources noted. Another Constitution Bill proposed by the Kovind panel was aimed at creating provisions to hold simultaneous elections to municipalities and panchayats, along with the elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, by inserting a new Article 324A. It would have required ratification by half of the State Assemblies. But the Union Cabinet has kept the local body polls out as of now.

The second Bill will be an ordinary one to amend provisions in three laws dealing with Union Territories that have 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 Constitution 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.

The Government is keen on holding wider consultations on bills that are likely to be referred to a parliamentary committee. The sources said the Government also wants to consult the speakers of various state legislative Assemblies through the committee.

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. In its report submitted to the Government in March, just before the general election was announced, the panel recommended implementing ‘One Nation, One Election’ in two phases.

While the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies are pushing for simultaneous polls, several opposition parties have opposed the idea. The Government is of the view that simultaneous polls will reduce expenditure in the long run and different parts of the country will not be under the Model Code of Conduct throughout the year due to various polls.

Simultaneous polls were held in the country between 1951 and 1967. The concept of simultaneous elections has featured in many reports and studies since 1983, essentially implying a return to the previous practice of conducting polls concurrently. Congress reiterated its opposition to the very idea of simultaneous polls and accused the Government of trying to divert attention from “questions being raised on the electoral integrity of the democratic system”.

“The Union Cabinet has cleared the Bill on One Nation One Election. The views of the Indian National Congress on this subject had been forcefully articulated by its President Mallikarjun Kharge ji on January 17, 2024. Nothing has happened since then to modify them,” said Congress chief spokesman Jairam Ramesh. Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana stated that it needs more clarity on the ‘One Nation, One Election’ bill, which was approved by the Union Cabinet, before taking a stance on the issue. The BRS had supported the concept in 2017 when a meeting was convened on simultaneous polls, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao said.

Elections for the Lok Sabha and all State Assemblies can be held together:

• For synchronising 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”.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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”.
• 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.