Recently, The Union Cabinet has accepted the recommendations of the Ramnath Kovind led High Level Committee on One Nation, One Election. The committee has envisaged simultaneous Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections as the first step, followed by municipal and panchayat polls within 100 days of the general election. According to the roadmap presented by the committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, simultaneous elections will require 18 amendments to existing laws, including 15 amendments to the Constitution.
In this article we will look at the issue of one nation one election. We will look at the recommendations of the Ramnath Kovind led panel. We will look at the arguments supporting the idea and the criticisms of the idea of one nation one election.
What is the One nation one election?
Definition- One nation one election refers to the idea of holding simultaneous polls for State Assemblies and the Lok Sabha instead of separate and continuous elections.
Historical Background-
One Nation one election was the norm in India until 1967. Simultaneous elections were conducted for the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies in 1952, 1957, 1962, and 1967.
However, due to the premature dissolution of some Legislative Assemblies in 1968 and 1969 the simultaneous election cycle got disrupted. Further, in 1970, the Lok Sabha was dissolved prematurely, and fresh elections were held in 1971.
All these events led to the breakdown of the cycle of simultaneous elections in India.
What is the Kovind Panel on One Nation One Election?
About the Committee- The Union government on September 2, 2023 had constituted a committee under the headship of former President of India Ram Nath Kovind to look into the feasibility of ‘one nation one election’.
Members of the Committee- The Committee was headed by Ramnath Kovind. The members include- Home Minister Amit Shah, former Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Finance Commission chairperson N K Singh, former Lok Sabha secretary-general Subhash C Kashyap, senior advocate Harish Salve and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari.
What are the recommendations of the Kovind Panel Report on One Nation One Election?
To give effect to its recommendation, the committee has suggested 15 amendments to the Constitution of India-in the form of both new provisions and changes to existing provisions- to be carried out through two Constitution Amendment Bills.
FIRST CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT BILL
Deals with the transition to a simultaneous election system, and the procedure for fresh elections to Lok Sabha or a state Assembly before the expiration of their stipulated five-year term.
Passage of the Bill- The Bill can be passed by Parliament without the requirement for consultation with state governments or ratification by state Assemblies.
Provisions of the Bill
1. Insertion of a new article 82A- Article 82A will establish the process by which the country will move to a system of simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.
| Provisions of Article 82A(1) | The President will issue a notification bringing Article 82A into effect, on the date of the first sitting of the House of the People after a general election. The date of this notification “shall be called the Appointed date”. |
| Provisions under Article 82A(2) | All the Legislative 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 House of the People. |
| Provisions under Article 82A(3) | ECI to hold General elections to the House of the People and the Legislative Assemblies simultaneously |
| Provisions under Article 82A(4) | If the ECI believes that elections to any legislative assembly cannot be conducted simultaneously, “it may make a recommendation to the President, to declare by an Order, that the election to that Legislative Assembly may be conducted at a later date” |
| Provisions under Article 82A(5) | Even in cases where the state Assembly election is deferred, “the full term of the Legislative Assembly shall end on the same date as the end of the full term of the House of the People constituted in the General Election” |
2. Amendment of Art 327
Art 327 gives Parliament the power to make laws relating to elections to Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and state legislatures, including the preparation of electoral rolls and delimitation of constituencies.
Kovind Panel Report on Simultaneous Elections has recommended that the power of Parliament under Article 327 should be expanded to include “conduct of simultaneous elections” as well.
3. Amendments to ensure simultaneous elections when Lok Sabha or state Assembly is dissolved before ‘full term’ ends
Amendment of 83(2) (Duration of Houses of Parliament) and 172 (1) (“Duration of the State Legislatures”)- The committee has recommended that the five-year duration of the House of people and state legislatures should be referred to as “the full term”.
Amendments to Articles 83(3) and 172(3)- If Lok Sabha or a state Assembly is dissolved before the expiry of the full term, the remaining period will be referred to as the ‘unexpired term‘.
Addition of Articles 83(4) and 172(4)- Lok Sabha or state Assembly that replaces the previously dissolved Lok Sabha or state Assembly will serve only for the remaining ‘unexpired term‘.
4. Amendment of Laws of UT for Simultaneous Election
Kovind Panel on Simultaneous elections has recommended amendment of the following UT laws for simultaneous elections.
a. The Government of Union Territories Act, 1963
b. The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991
c. The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019
SECOND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT BILL
This bill deals with municipal and panchayat elections, which fall under Entry 5 of the State List titled ‘Local government’.
Passage of the Bill- This bill needs to be ratified by at least half of the state legislatures in the country before it can be passed by the Parliament.
Provisions of the Bill
1. Inclusion of a new Article 324A
It would empower the Parliament to make laws to ensure that municipality and panchayat elections are held simultaneously with the General Elections (to Lok Sabha and state Assemblies).
2. Amendment of Article 325
a. Addition of Article 325(2)- This new sub-clause proposed by the committee will create a Single Electoral Roll for every territorial constituency for election to the House of the People, Legislature of a State or to a Municipality or a Panchayat.
b. Addition of Article 325(3)- The single electoral roll shall be made by the Election Commission in consultation with the State Election Commissions. It shall substitute any electoral roll prepared earlier by either the Election Commission under Art 325 or the State Election Commissions under Art. 243K and Art. 243ZA.
What are the arguments in favour of ‘One Nation One Election’?
1. Reduction of Financial burden on state exchequer- Continuous election cycles are a financial burden on the state exchequer. ‘One Nation One election’ will reduce the overall expenditure on political process by ECI.
For ex- The 2014 Lok Sabha polls cost Rs 3,870 cr to the exchequer and the 2015 Bihar elections alone cost the exchequer 300 cr. ECI has estimated the cost of ‘one nation one election’ to be around Rs.4500 cr.
2. Better utilisation of financial resources by political parties- Simultaneous elections will reduce the campaign expenditure of political parties and the candidates. This will help smaller regional parties in better management of financial resources.
3. Reduced duration of ‘model code of conduct’- Frequent imposition of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during polls stalls all development work for months at a time. It will reduce ‘policy paralysis’ that results from the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct during election time.
4. Focus on governance instead of being in ‘election mode’- One nation one election will ensure continuity of policies and programmes of the central and state governments. It will reduce disruption of normal public life, as political rallies will be kept to a minimum. It will improve the delivery of essential services to the public.
5. Increase of administrative efficiency- During elections the entire state machinery as well as high-ranking officers from other States are also deputed as observers in the poll-bound State. ‘One nation one election’ will increase efficiency of administrative system.
6. Improvement of Internal security- Frequent deployment of security forces during elections use a considerable size of armed police forces, which can otherwise be better deployed for better management of internal security problems like naxalism.
7. Reduced use of ‘black money’- Elections involve considerable expenditure by prospective candidates, most of which is black money. ‘One nation one election’ will reduce the circulation of black money in the economy.
8. Reduction of populist measures- Frequent elections forces the political class to think in terms of immediate electoral gains rather than focus on long-term programs and policies, which impacts the focus of governance and policymaking. Simultaneous elections would reduce the populist measures.
9. Increase of voter turnout- According to the Law Commission, simultaneous elections will increase voter turnout because it will be easier for people to cast many votes all at once.
10. Improvement in social harmony- Frequent elections perpetuate caste, religion, and communal issues across the country as elections are polarising events that have accentuated casteism, communalism, and corruption. Simultaneous elections would reduce the fault lines between communities created due to multiple elections.
What are the arguments against ‘one nation one election’?
1. Reduced Accountability- Regular elections ensure that the government is under an obligation to listen to the will of the people regularly. Regular state elections serve as feedback mechanism for the political parties. Critics argue that if the government is assured of a fixed term it might lead to autocratic tendencies.
2. Undermining of Federal Power- In recent years, issues affecting the states have gained political value, which is demonstrated with more regional parties forming state governments like DMK in Tamil Nadu, TDP in Andhra Pradesh & Biju Janata Dal in Odisha. Due to simultaneous elections union elections might overshadow the state election.
3. Disadvantage for regional parties- Critics argue that simultaneous election would hamper the prospects of regional parties as national issues would dominate the political narrative instead of local issues. Regional parties would not be able to compete against national parties in both money and election strategies.
4. Against Spirit of Democracy- Critics argue that forcing simultaneous elections is against democracy because trying to force an artificial cycle of elections and restricting the choice for voters is not correct.
5. Influences choices and electoral behavior- Voters may vote for the same party both at the national and state level which might put regional parties at a disadvantage. According to research report by IDFC Institute, if elections are held simultaneously, there’s a 77 percent likelihood of voters favoring the same political party or alliance for both state assemblies and the Lok Sabha. This figure drops to 61 percent if elections are held six months apart.
6. Threat to internal security- Deployment of heavy security forces for simultaneous elections is a logistical challenge and might endanger the internal security in the country.
7. Tampering with the democratic will- The present system has been consciously chosen by our forefathers to uphold the will of democracy by providing for regular elections so that people can express their will through the right to vote. Modifying the election system and cycle would mean tampering with the power of people to express their democratic will.
What are the Challenges in the conduct of Simultaneous Elections in India?
The implementation of One Nation, One Election faces significant logistical, financial, and administrative challenges.
Large requirement of additional electoral equipments- For simultaneous elections in 2029, the ECI has estimated a requirement of 53.76 lakh ballot units, 38.67 lakh control units, and 41.65 lakh VVPATs. This would necessitate adding 26.55 lakh ballot units, 17.78 lakh control units, and 17.79 lakh VVPATs to the current inventory.
Large lead time for manufacture- The manufacturing of additional electoral equipments by Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) would require significant lead time.
High cost to the exchequer- The ECI has estimated the manufacturing of these additional units to be Rs. 7,951.37 crore, excluding transportation and warehousing costs. It would cost a huge sum to the public exchequer.
Large requirement of security personnels- The smooth conduction of one nation one election, will increase the requirement of number of security personnel. The ECI had estimated a need for 4,719 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in 2024 general elections, which was a 50% increase from the 2019 requirement.
Practical Challenges of Simultaneous Elections- The ECI has faced difficulties in holding simultaneous elections due to security, weather, and festival-related constraints. For ex- Elections in Jammu and Kashmir could not be held concurrently with the Lok Sabha elections due to high security needs. Around 400-500 additional companies of security forces were required, making it logistically challenging.
What Should be the Way Ahead?
1. Build All party Concensus- The government must be build an all party concensus before introducing the two constitutional amendment bills as recommended by the Kovind Panel Report on Simultaneous Elections.
2. 22nd Law Commission Report on simultaneous polls- The goverment must also wait for the recommendations of the 22nd Law Commission Report on simultaneous polls before moving ahead with the idea.
3. Public awareness- Public awareness must be created around the issue of simultaneous election through media deliberations.
Simultaneous election is an idea whose time has come. However, since the issue is concerned with the federal structure of the Constitution, it needs to be discussed and debated properly across the political spectrum to assuage the concerns of regional parties. This will make it easier to implement the idea in the country.
If India opts for ‘one nation, one election’, the world’s biggest democracy will set another unique example as India will be the 4th country in the world after Belgium, Sweden and South Africa which will conduct simultaneous election.
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