A constitutional amendment bill to hold Lok Sabha and assembly elections simultaneously is listed in the Lower House of the Parliament on Tuesday.
It is likely to be referred to a joint committee of the two Houses. The Lok Sabha agenda said the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, popularly being referred to as the Bill on “one nation, one election”, will be introduced by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.
Post the introduction, Meghwal will request Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to refer the Bill to a Joint Committee of Parliament for wider consultations. The joint panel will be constituted on a pro-rata basis, based on the strength of MPs of various parties.
Former President Ram Nath Kovind highlighted that simultaneous elections were envisioned by India’s founding fathers, not the BJP. He noted the support of former President Pranab Mukherjee and a majority of political parties for the concept. Kovind’s committee recommended phased implementation, aiming to provide governments more time for governance.
If the parties do not inform the speaker about the members they wish to name for the panel, according to the rules, they may lose membership.
The speaker will announce the committee’s composition by the evening on the day the Bill is introduced, the functionary said.
Initially, the tenure of the proposed committee will be for 90 days but it may be extended later.
The Union Cabinet has approved the two bills to hold the parliamentary and assembly polls concurrently.
Further, the minister will also introduce the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which seeks to align the elections of the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry and the NCT of Delhi.
BJP will chair the committee as the single largest party, besides having several members, a functionary said on Monday.
Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu rejected ex-CM Jagan Mohan Reddy’s claim that “One Nation, One Election” (ONOE) could be implemented by 2027. Naidu believes simultaneous polls are unlikely before 2029 due to delimitation and census requirements. While supporting the ONOE bill, he criticized YSRCP leaders’ understanding of the framework.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah was a member of a high-level committee, which was led by former president Ram Nath Kovind, that recommended holding Lok Sabha, state assembly and local body elections simultaneously in a phased manner. Kovind had said during the consultation process on “one nation, one election” that 32 parties supported the idea while 15 did not.
Last week, the Union Cabinet decided to hold simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies but opted to leave “as of now” how local body polls will be held.
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.
(With PTI inputs)
