2019 – Posted in: Daily News – Tags: simultaneous elections

ONE NATION, ONE ELECTION

For: Preliminary & Mains

Topics covered: One Nation, One Election – Roadmap to it, How it will work

News Flash

Simultaneous elections or “one nation, one election” is a proposal to conduct the elections to the Lok Sabha and State assemblies at the same time.

A committee will be formed by the Narendra Modi-led government to prepare a road map for “One nation, one election”.

As per the Law Commission in a draft report submitted to the government in August 2018, it recommended changes to the Constitution and the electoral law so as to enable holding simultaneous polls.

What is simultaneous poll:

The core idea of “One Nation, One Election” envisages a system where elections to all states and the Lok Sabha will have to be held simultaneously.
This will include the rebuilding of the Indian election cycle in a way that election to the states and the centre synchronise. This would imply that the voters will cast their votes for electing members of the LS and the state assemblies on a single day, in the meantime.
Currently, elections to the state assemblies and the Lok Sabha are held separately.

Is it a new concept?

No, simultaneous elections are not new to India.
Previously, due to the dissolution of some Legislative Assemblies in 1968 and 1969 and that of the Lok Sabha in December 1970, elections to State Assemblies and Parliament have been held separately.

How it will work?

Two proposals were recommended to conduct simultaneous elections along with the 17th Lok Sabha elections.

First proposal

The proposal was to make the shift to simultaneous polls in a phased manner. For instance, 13 assemblies (from states and UTs) which themselves face elections in 2018/2019 may be synchronised in 2019, as the rest of the states are in the middle of their five-year term.

For such synchronisation to happen, besides political consensus and extension of the term up to six months in some states, amendments to the Constitution have to be made. Elections to the remaining State Legislative Assemblies and Union Territory with Legislature will be synchronised by the end of 2021.

Thereafter, elections to the Lok Sabha, all the State Legislative Assemblies, and Union Territories (with legislatures) will be held simultaneously from 2024.

Second Proposal

It involved synchronisation in two batches.

First, elections to the 13 state Legislative Assemblies and a Union Territory would be synchronised with elections to the Lok Sabha in 2019. Then, elections to the remaining State Legislative Assemblies will be synchronised with that of one Union Territory by the end of 2021.

This makes elections across the country synchronised in such a manner that they will be held twice every five years.

Why do some support?

Cost cutting: Simultaneous polls will reduce enormous costs involved in separate elections.
Ruling parties to be more focused on Governance instead of being constantly in election mode.
It will boost voter turnout.

Arguments against it

National and state issues are different, and holding simultaneous elections is likely to affect the judgment of voters.
If elections will be held once in five years, it will reduce the government’s accountability to the people.
When an election in a State is postponed until the synchronised phase, President’s rule will have to be imposed in the interim period in that state. This will be a blow to democracy and federalism.

Source: The Hindu

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