Cabinet nod to ‘one nation, one poll’ plan

The Union Cabinet approved bills for simultaneous national and state polls, facing opposition over concerns of undermining democracy and federalism.

The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its nod to two bills aimed at implementing simultaneous state and national polls that are likely to be introduced during the ongoing winter session of Parliament in a bid to usher in sweeping changes in the ways elections are conducted in the world’s largest democracy.

Counting of votes in Thane in November 2024. The proposal to align elections was a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s 2024 poll manifesto and has the backing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (HT Photo)

The proposal to align elections was a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s 2024 poll manifesto and has the backing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi but is fiercely opposed by a raft of opposition parties and activists who allege that it will hurt democratic accountability and federalism.

The Cabinet cleared the Constitutional Amendment Bill to conduct elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies together and a second bill to align the polls in the Union Territories of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu & Kashmir, said people aware of the details. The second bill does not require amending the Constitution.

The bills are likely to be introduced in the ongoing winter session, which concludes on December 20, and will likely be examined by a joint parliamentary committee (JPC), said people aware of details.

The Union government as well as the BJP will carry out extensive outreach to create awareness about the provision of the bills and the implications these will have on the electoral reforms, the people cited above said.

As a first step, the bills will focus on synchronising Lok Sabha and assembly elections, as suggested by the Ram Nath Kovind committee, and will take up the process of replicating the process for municipal and panchayat elections in the next phase, one of the people cited above said.

The bill for holding simultaneous polls for all state and UT assemblies along with parliamentary elections can be passed by Parliament without consultation with state governments or ratification by state assemblies, saida person aware of the details.

The bill to align local body polls or to create a single electoral roll through the Election Commission of India (ECI) will need ratification by at least half of the state legislatures, said the person quoted above.

The Constitution Amendment Bill to amend articles 83 (duration of houses of Parliament) and 172 (duration of state legislatures) requires the support of at least two-thirds of the members of each house of Parliament present and voting.

Since the current strength of the Lok Sabha is 542, the government will need the support of 361 MPs. In addition to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the government will need non-aligned parties like the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which supported the idea, to back the bill, said the person quoted above.

In the Rajya Sabha, which has 231 members currently, the government will need support of 154 MPs. The NDA’s current strength in the Rajya House is 114, and six nominated members and the Opposition INDIA has 86, and others have 25.

From the first elections in independent India in 1952 until 1967, elections were held simultaneously across the country. But since the Lok Sabha and state assemblies can be dissolved before their tenures end, the state and national elections came to be held at different times after that.

Several committees, including a parliamentary panel, the Niti Aayog and the Election Commission of India, have studied simultaneous polls in the past, backing the idea but flagging logistical concerns.

If implemented, simultaneous elections will become part of a raft of sweeping changes that will change the political and social landscape of India, including the census and the delimitation exercise based on it, and the women’s reservation bill that is supposed to come into effect after that.

The bill has not been circulated among members so far, but Opposition leaders demanded scrutiny of the provisions.

“The Union Cabinet has bulldozed their way through with the unconstitutional and anti-federal One Nation, One Election Bill, ignoring every legitimate concern raised by experts and opposition leaders. This is not a carefully-considered reform; it’s an authoritarian imposition designed to undermine India’s democracy and federal structure,” said West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on X.

She said that Trinamool Congress members “will oppose this draconian legislation tooth and nail in Parliament”.

Biju Janata Dal leader Sasmit Patra said there was need for greater consultation in Parliament. “What will happen when there’s a lack of majority, hung Parliament or assembly, or the government midway loses its confidence? I think there are several key issues which are constitutionally demanding and have not been addressed so far in one nation, one election. I believe wider consultation and dialogue needs to be done with political parties,” he said.

Congress leader K Suresh said that the party found out about the cabinet nod through the media and the government should invite all political parties and state governments to discuss the national issue. “...Some consensus should be arrived at... But the government is going to introduce the bill without any discussion with the states and political parties... From the beginning, our stand on One Nation One Election has been clear. The government should tell why they want to bring the bill,” he said.

Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Manoj Jha said his party was yet to see the provisions of the bill. “Is it going the same way as the Women Reservation Bill? We do not know when there will be delimitation or census,” he said.

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin criticised the bill and said it will disrupt federalism. :This impractical and anti-democratic move will erase regional voices, erode federalism, and disrupt governance. Rise up INDIA! Let us resist this attack on Indian Democracy with all our strength.” he posted on X.

In September, the Union cabinet approved the recommendations of a high-level committee – headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind.

The 18,000-page Kovind panel report outlined a phased approach to synchronise elections, beginning first with Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, and following up with local body polls within 100 days. Modi has repeatedly pitched for simultaneous polls to bring down expenses and cut down on restrictions imposed on policy making.

The Kovind panel – set up by the Union government on September 2, 2023 — received responses from 47 political parties, with 32 favouring simultaneous elections. These parties — which include the BJP, the BJD, Janata Dal United (JDU) and the Shiv Sena — said the proposal will save scarce resources, protect social harmony, and stimulate economic development.

However, 13 political parties opposed simultaneous elections — including the Congress, TMC, DMK, Aam Aadmi Party and CPI(M) — expressing concerns that it could violate the basic structure of the Constitution, be anti-democratic and anti-federal, marginalise regional parties, encourage the dominance of national parties, and lead to a presidential form of government.

The panel finally suggested an amendment to the Constitution to introduce synchronised polls to elect the Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the first step. It also suggested synchronising the elections to municipalities and panchayats with the Lok Sabha and assemblies at a later stage.

National and state elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and local body polls are conducted by state election commissions.

Indicating that 2029 might be the year to start with the first step, the panel recommended that terms of some of the state assemblies will have to be cut to hold simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha and state legislatures after the five-year term of the next Lok Sabha ends.

The panel proposed a new legal regime, requiring certain amendments to enable simultaneous polls, even as it remained emphatic that the suggested changes are not anti-federal, violate the basic structure of the Constitution, or will result in a presidential form of government.

For holding the Lok Sabha and state assembly polls together, the panel recommended amendments in Articles 83 (duration of Lok Sabha) and Article 172 (duration of state legislatures), which provide that their term will be of five years “unless sooner dissolved” by the President and the state governors respectively.