One Nation One Election: An In-Depth Look at India’s Push for Simultaneous Elections

Introduction

• India is set for a historic transformation of the electoral system as the Union Cabinet approved the One Nation One Election proposal.
• This has been done in order to co-ordinate the elections to the Lok Sabha (Parliament), State Assemblies and local government bodies (municipalities and panchayats) so as to minimize the holding of the polls and thus give shape to the consolidated Modi’s electoral cycle of India.
• The HLCC led by former President Ram Nath Kovind made its suggestions to this particular reform in March of 2023 to President Droupadi Murmu.
• The government is now planning to bring this change in two phases; however, there are legal, constitutional, and political constraints which are to be considered and overcome.

Background of One Nation One Election

• historical reasons it has to be stated that India had not always a fragmented electoral cycle.
• It may be mentioned that, the elections to both the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies were conducted phase-wise during the three periods, 1951-52, 1961-62 and 1967.
• However, due to the pre mature dissolution of certain Assemblies and the Lok Sabha, the electoral cycles got out of Sync over the period of time.
• Elections across different states have since December become a regular affair, a process which calls for lots of resource and time from both the Election Commission and the government.
• The One Nation One Election or the synchronised polls if goes through will bring this synchrony, there will be no burden of conducting elections year after year.
• It would also mean that elections would be held on regular basis in all forms of governance thus increasing the efficiency of administration while minimizing political and financial exhaustion.

Phased Implementation of Simultaneous Elections

• According to Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the transition to simultaneous elections will be carried out in two phases

Phase 1: Lok Sabha and State Assembly Elections

• The first phase will be in regard to coordination of the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies elections.
• This will entail pre323 cutting short the term of some state Assemblies to ensure that they complete their term along with the Lok Sabha elections.
• It will involve the synchronizing process so that the existing stability is not threatened in a way that can cause disruption of democracy.

Phase 2: Local Government Elections

• The second phase will try to synchronize the municipal and panchayati raj elections for the states.
• This phase will be carried out within 100 days after the first phase with some ground legislative and administrative work to bring in the local governments into the scheme.

The Constitutional Amendments Required

• The major impediment to the One Nation, One Election model is in fact constitutional reforms needed to enact the system.
• Two Constitution Amendment Bills will need to be passed by Parliament:Two Constitution Amendment Bills will need to be passed by Parliament:

First Constitution Amendment Bill

• This Bill will help in phasing out of the Lok Sabha and State Assembly Assembly elections in a far more coordinated manner.
• In this case, it will be done by the introduction of a new article, Article 82A to help in the transition. According to the provisions of the Constitution of India enshrined in the Article 368, it needs a “special majority” in the both Houses of the Parliament.
• This means that the total membership of each House should be split into 50 per cent for the amendment and when those in the house are voting, at least two-thirds must pass the amendment.

Second Constitution Amendment Bill

• This Bill will concern the procedure to include local government elections in the schedule of simultaneous elections.
• Local government can be defined as a subject of the State List under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution and thus only the states have the power to make legislation on the same.
• The amendment cannot be passed at once to facilitate simultaneous holding of local body elections and requires the support of at least half total number of states.

The Political and Legal Roadblocks

• The BJP led Union government is an ardent supporter of this reform The Union government does not have the numbers to pass the amendment Bills on its own.
• As has been pointed earlier, getting NDA allies support will be crucial for BJP as would be the opposition party support. In order to construct this consensus the government may forward the Bills to a parliamentary committee in order to receive further deliberations and feedback.
• States shall also be instrumental given the fact that their ratification is required in the second Bill relating to local bodies.
• Since the BJP party does not have majority in all the state legislative structures, especially after the future elections in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the political perspective might change the possibility to proceed with such project.

How the New System Will Work

• Subsequently, once the Constitution Amendment Bills are passed and all the political and legal processes are implemented the process of transition towards concurrent elections will begin.
• The Kovind Committee has laid out a detailed plan for this transition:The Kovind Committee has laid out a detailed plan for this transition:

Notification by the President

• It will start technically after the President sends a notification after the first sitting of the new Lok Sabha.
• This will set an “appointed date,” from which the synchronisation of elections will begin.

Early Dissolution of State Assemblies

• Certain state assemblies will reach their legislative term at various times in the political year than when they will be due for dissolution.
• For example, the Bihar Assembly which is due on the assumption that it would re-elected in 2025 will dissolve in 2029 instead of 2030 in order to coincide with the Lok Sabha period.
• This will help in having a proper election schedule for all the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies.

Mid Term Elections & Unfilled Terms

• Mid-term elections will have to be conducted where a state Assembly or the Lok Sabha is dissolved before completion of full five years of time period.
• However, as it will form a new governing body, its mandate will only be for the ‘unexpired term’ — until the next simultaneous election.

Single Electoral Roll

• It is proposed that the Election Commission of India (ECI), which is an existing structure shall be responsible for the overall administration of the electoral roll and the roll shall be uniform to the different level of elections which include the Lok sabha, the state Assemblies, and the local bodies.
• This will reduce on the chances of having discrepancies of different elections in as much as it will also reduce on the time required to carry out an election.

Pros and Cons of One Nation One Election

One has witnessed the PM strongly supporting the initiative of One Nation One Election yet at the same time it has received criticism and opposition.

Advantages:

• Cost-Efficiency: The requirements for holding simultaneous elections of all the levels, will significantly minimize the colossal expenses on the exchequer.
• Focus on Governance: This means that the political leaders are always in an election campaign mode due to many election circles which result into policy stagnation. Synchronization will help that persons holding elective positions to devote most of their time in governing without having to frequently campaign.
• Improved Voter Turnout: It will probably have more appeal overall and voter turnout since the voter will not have to wait for another election cycle to elect the representatives.

Disadvantages:

• Logistical Challenges: Holding elections at the same time across the country of India will pose problems to the EC especially bearing in mind that the Indian comprises of several regions with different issues.
• Impact on Regional Parties: Competitive national agendas may thus intrude into electoral campaigning and, in so doing, may marginalize local and regional anxieties, putting at risk the electoral viability of national, regionalist parties.
• Early Dissolutions: Early dissolution of State Assemblies may be initiated, something critics of the bill condemn as a direct attack to fixed-term democracy.

Conclusion

• One Nation One Election is an aggressive and transformative measure in India’s political system designed fundamentally to transform the Indian election process and thereby secure the massive savings from the country’s resources.
• However, this way is full of political, legal and logistic barriers on the further road of improving and developing the educational system.
• To realize this vision of more harmonized and unified regional cooperation, will require changes to the constitution, collaboration of states, and bipartisan support.
• Whether India can synchronise itself in the above manner still remains to be seen but the changes have a far reaching potential in the largest democracy of the global village.

FAQS

Q1 : What is One Nation One Election?
Ans: One Nation One Election refers to the proposal of holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, state Assemblies, and local bodies. The aim is to synchronize the electoral cycles across all levels of government, thereby reducing the frequency of elections and the associated administrative and financial burden.

Q2: Why is India considering One Nation One Election?
Ans: The key reasons are to reduce the high cost of frequent elections, minimize disruptions to governance, and allow governments to focus on development rather than continuous campaigning. This system also aims to improve voter turnout by making the election process more streamlined.