One nation, one election not possible in 2029: Chidambaram
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday asserted that simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies are not possible in 2029 and warned that the Congress and other opposition parties will mount a nationwide campaign against the proposed legislation, terming it a “Constitutional monstrosity” in parliamentary democracy.
The former Union Home and Finance Minister’s statement came a day after PP Chaudhary, the chairman of the joint parliamentary panel examining the related bills for the Modi Government’s ‘One Nation, One Election’ initiative, said that holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies in 2029 is possible if the Constitution is amended and State Governments support the move.
In a post on X, Chidambaram said he had read Chaudhary’s statement that simultaneous elections are possible in 2029.
Chaudhary heads the 31-member JPC constituted to examine and give suggestions on the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024. “I am afraid his view is wrong and goes against the text of the Bill. Even if the Bill is passed (which is very unlikely), the ‘appointed date’ under the Bill can only be a date ‘after a general election’. “The next general election will take place in 2029. Hence, simultaneous elections are not possible in 2029, which is a blessing,” he said.
The senior Congress leader said that the Congress and other opposition parties will launch a nationwide campaign against the Bills. whi which he decried as a “constitutional monstrosity in parliamentary democracy in a federal country”.
Chidambaram, who submitted his opinion on the bills before the joint committee on Monday, said he was grateful for the opportunity given to present his views on ‘One Nation One Election’. “I am not at liberty to disclose my evidence to the JPC, but the basic thrust of my deposition was that the Bill violated the basic features of the Constitution, especially the tenets of parliamentary democracy in a federal country,” he said.
Sources said that while deposing before the JPC on Monday, Chidambaram strongly opposed the proposed move to hold simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, terming it “unconstitutional.” He also said that the proposal to hold nationwide polls under “One Nation, One Election” is a “mindless” exercise. Sources said Chidambaram argued that since any legislature is elected for a five-year term, curtailing its tenure directly violates the basic structure of the Constitution.
The senior Congress leader also said that his conscience does not allow him to support the bills and stressed that the Government does not have the number (two-thirds majority) to pass the legislation, sources said.
The bills were introduced in Lok Sabha in December 2024, following which they were referred to the joint committee for examination.
The bills were formulated after a high-level panel, headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind, recommended holding of Lok Sabha, state assembly and local body elections simultaneously in a phased manner. Union Home Minister Amit Shah was also a member of the high-level panel headed by Kovind.
Following the adoption of the Constitution, elections to the Lok Sabha and all State Legislative Assemblies were conducted simultaneously from 1951 to 1967. The first general elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies were held together in 1951-52, a practice that continued for three subsequent general elections in 1957, 1962, and 1967.
