Two crucial bills, including the “One Nation, One Election” Bill, are set to be tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday, December 16. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will introduce the same.
Meghwal will table the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in the Lower House, aiming to pave the way for the simultaneous holding of Lok Sabha and state assembly elections.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has long championed the concept of conducting national and state elections at the same time. On Thursday, the Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the Constitutional Amendment Bill as part of the government's push to make “One Nation, One Election” a reality. The Cabinet also gave its nod to two additional draft legislations, including one to align provisions in laws related to Union territories that have legislative assemblies.
The proposed Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill seeks to amend key provisions of the Constitution of India to facilitate simultaneous elections.
Once enacted, the President will issue a notification marking the first sitting of the Lok Sabha following a general election. The date of this notification will be known as the “appointed date.” The tenure of the newly elected Lok Sabha will be five years from this date, and the tenure of state assemblies will be synchronized with the Lok Sabha's full term.
If either the Lok Sabha or a state assembly is prematurely dissolved, the assembly constituted thereafter will serve only the remainder of the term. The bill also notes that simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies were last held in 1967. Since then, the practice has been disrupted due to premature dissolutions of several state assemblies.
The government claims that holding elections simultaneously will reduce the financial burden of conducting multiple polls throughout the year, which has become both expensive and time-consuming. On the other hand, the opposition has raised concerns about the feasibility and risks of conducting such a massive exercise, particularly concerning smaller regional parties and the impact on the federal structure of India.
Union territories laws amendment bill to be tabled alongside simultaneous elections bill
In addition to the Constitutional Amendment Bill, the government has listed the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which is a technical legislation aimed at aligning the provisions of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 with the concept of simultaneous elections. This bill seeks to make “consequential amendments” to the laws governing the Union Territories of Puducherry, Delhi, and Jammu & Kashmir, ensuring their synchronization with the dates for Lok Sabha and state assembly elections.
