The Union Cabinet approved the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal, which aims to hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections within 100 days followed by urban body and panchayat elections. The proposal is based on the recommendations of a high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, which submitted a detailed report on the subject.
Main recommendations of the committee
- Simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly elections in India
- Conducting municipal and panchayat elections within 100 days of the general election.
- To conduct simultaneous elections in India, constitutional amendment will be required in the country because conducting simultaneous elections will reduce the cost of election expenses.
- Simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly elections in India will strengthen its administrative stability because the country is constantly in election mode, which affects its governance and legislative work, which can be reduced.
Introduction to One Nation – One Election
- The issue of conducting simultaneous elections of Lok Sabha and state assemblies in India has been under discussion for a long time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has supported this idea and tried to take it forward. The Election Commission, NITI Aayog, Law Commission and Constitution Review Commission have also considered it. Recently, the Law Commission organized a three-day conference to know the opinion of various political parties, regional political parties and administrative officials on this issue.
- In this conference organized by the Law Commission, some political parties supported the idea of ’one nation – one election’, while most national and regional political parties opposed it. They argue that this idea is against the Indian democratic process and federal structure. Unless there is a consensus on this, it will not be possible to implement it.
- Healthy and fair elections are the cornerstone of any democracy. Conducting fair elections in a vast country like India has always been a challenge. Elections are held in some state or the other every year, due to which the country is always in election mode. This affects administrative and policy decisions and puts a heavy burden on the country’s treasury. To deal with this problem, policymakers presented the idea of holding elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies simultaneously.
- One country – one election does not include panchayat and municipal elections.
- ‘One Nation – One Election’ means that elections to the Lok Sabha and assemblies should be held simultaneously across the country. In this electoral process, voters will cast their votes on the same day or in a phased manner. There is a debate on how right or wrong this idea is, but to implement it, it is necessary to know its features.
Background of One Nation – One Election
- After the independence of India, Lok Sabha and Assembly elections were held simultaneously in 1952, 1957, 1962 and 1967, but in 1968-69 many assemblies were dissolved prematurely and in 1970 the Lok Sabha was also dissolved, due to which this tradition was broken.
- The idea of ’One Nation – One Election’ was also presented by the Election Commission of India in 1983 and the Law Commission also supported it in 1999.
- The Constitution Review Commission has also recommended it in 2002. • Those in favour of this idea argue that it will reduce election expenditure and make better use of administrative resources, while those against it argue that it poses challenges to India’s democratic governance system and demands constitutional amendments. Hence, it is necessary to adopt a balanced view on the feasibility and impact of ‘one nation – one election’.