‘One Nation One Election’ proposal gets Cabinet nod

The Union cabinet has accepted a high-level committee’s recommendations on ‘One Nation, One Election’ for holding simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies in a phased manner after a countrywide consensus-building exercise.

The issue of simultaneous polls has been on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s election manifestoes as part of electoral reforms.

Information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said an implementation group would be formed to take forward the recommendations of the panel headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind and detailed discussions would be held on various for across the country over the next few months.

Ashwini Vaishnaw said the move to simultaneous elections would be effected in two phases — in the first phase, Lok Sabha and assembly elections will be aligned and in the second phase, which will be held within 100 days of the first, local body elections will be covered.

The Ram Nath Kovind committee has recommended 18 constitutional amendments, most of which will not need ratification by state assemblies. However, these would require certain Constitution amendment bills that would have to be passed by Parliament.

Some proposed changes regarding the single electoral roll and single voter ID card would need ratification by at least half of the states.

Separately, the law commission is also likely to come up soon with its own report on simultaneous elections, of which Prime Minister Modi has been a strong votary.

News agency PTI reported citing unnamed sources that the law commission is likely to recommend holding simultaneous polls for all three tiers of the government – the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies like municipalities and panchayats – starting 2029 and a provision for a unity government in cases like a hung house.

Simultaneous elections in the past

India had simultaneous elections between 1951 and 1967. The peak occurred in 1967, with elections in 20 states coinciding with the national elections for the Lower House of Parliament. In 1977, this number was 17, while in 1980 and 1985, 14 states held simultaneous elections.

Thereafter, polls started getting dispersed due to various reasons, including mid-term elections.

Differing tenures of various state assemblies

Holding all elections simultaneously will require a lot of manoeuvring, including advancing some polls and delaying some others.

While the Lok Sabha polls were held in May-June this year, states such as Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh also went to polls along with the parliamentary election.

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.

What comes next?

The success of the One Nation, One Election initiative depends on Parliament passing two Constitution Amendment Bills, which will require broad support from various political parties. Since the BJP doesn’t have a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha, it will need to engage not only its NDA allies but also opposition parties.

Key NDA constituent Janata Dal (United) welcomed the Union Cabinet’s decision, saying such a measure will rid the country of frequent polls, obviate the drain on public exchequer and result in policy continuity.

JD(U) national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad said ‘One Nation, One Election; will have long-term consequences and bring the country comprehensive benefits.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said simultaneous elections are not practical and alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes up with such things to divert attention from real issues when polls approach.

One way to build the necessary consensus is by referring the Amendment Bills to a parliamentary committee, such as a standing committee or a joint parliamentary committee. These panels include opposition members, and discussions there could lead to a consensus, The Indian Express reported.

The Centre will also need to involve the states. For local bodies to be part of the simultaneous elections plan, at least half of the states must ratify the required Constitutional amendment, it added.

Although the BJP currently governs over a dozen states, the upcoming assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Jharkhand may shift the political balance.

Amendments in Articles 83 and Article 172 recommended

To ensure that simultaneous elections do not conflict with the Constitution, the Kovind committee has proposed amendments to Article 83, which governs the term of the Lok Sabha, and Article 172, which covers the tenure of state assemblies.

The committee suggested a one-time transitory measure to synchronise all elections and proposed when Lok Sabha is constituted after the general elections, the President would by notification on the same date as that of the first sitting bring into force the provisions for transition. This date would be called the appointed date.

Irrespective of whether a state assembly has completed its five-year term or not, a clause under proposed Article 82A stated that all the state assemblies constituted in any general election held after the “appointed date” shall come to an end on the expiry of the full term of the Lok Sabha.

Effect of the provision

The effect of this provision can be understood with an example. The next assembly elections in West Bengal (2026) and Karnataka (2028) would conclude these assemblies’ terms in May or June 2029, coinciding with the next Lok Sabha’s term.

If the One Nation, One Election policy becomes a reality, potentially by 2029, and either the Lok Sabha or a state assembly is dissolved before its five-year term due to a loss of majority after the “appointed date”, the committee has recommended holding fresh elections. These would be considered “midterm elections”, and the new government would serve only the remaining portion of the term, referred to as the “unexpired term”.

The transition to simultaneous elections could also discourage no-confidence motions, as opposition parties may see little benefit in toppling a government, given that the next government would not serve a full five-year term.