Cabinet clears plan for parallel LS, state polls; yet to fix timeline

The Union Cabinet chaired

by PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday unanimously approved the ambitious one nation, one election plan that will enable simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state legislative Assemblies, municipalities and panchayats.

The Cabinet also cleared the idea of common electoral rolls for elections to all tiers of the government and a single election identity card.

The approval came a day after Home Minister Amit Shah announced that one nation, one election agenda would be implemented in “this very term of the Modi government”.

Arguments offered by panel

• Will transform electoral process and overall governance
• Optimise resources; encourage voter participation
• End disruptions due to Model Code of Conduct
• 65 meetings held by panel between Sept 23, 2023, and March 10, 2024
• 80% of 21,558 respondents favoured it

32 parties for it

• Of 47 parties that responded, 15 opposed and 32 favoured the system. Those who opposed raised apprehensions that it could violate the Constitution, be anti-federal

India Bloc against it

• Among parties that resisted the plan before the committee are Aam Aadmi Party, Congress, CPM, AIUDF, Trinamool Congress, AIMIM, CPI and DMK

The Cabinet, however, while accepting simultaneous poll recommendations of the high-level committee, led by former President Ram Nath Kovind, did not fix any timeline for the transition.

Asked if the proposal would be in place by 2029 national elections, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the government would first create a consensus on the committee’s recommendations and once the legal processes were over, a decision on the date for the transition would be taken.

To boost democracy: PM

I compliment Kovindji for spearheading this effort... step towards making our democracy even more vibrant. —Narendra Modi, PM

Impractical, says Oppn

It is not practical, it will not work. During elections, they (BJP) do not have any issue to raise, they divert attention from real issues. —Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress chief

The government will constitute an implementation committee to execute the committee’s suggestion for a two-phase rollout. In its report, the committee said, “We unanimously opine that in the first step, simultaneous elections to the House of the People (Lok Sabha) and state legislative Assemblies be held. In the second, municipality and panchayat elections will be held within 100 days of the holding of elections of the Lok Sabha and states.”

Vaishnaw said the panel received widespread support for the one nation, one election idea. The analysis of the feedback received by the panel which held 65 meetings between September 23, 2023, and March 10, 2024, reveals that 80% of the 21,558 responses were in favour of simultaneous elections.

Out of 47 political parties that responded, 15 opposed and 32 favoured the system. “Those who opposed simultaneous elections raised apprehensions that its adoption could violate the basic structure of the Constitution, be anti-democratic and anti-federal, marginalise regional parties, encourage the dominance of national parties, and result in a presidential form of government,” notes the panel in its over 18,000-page report.

Among parties that resisted the plan before the committee are Aam Aadmi Party, Congress, CPM, TMC, AIUDF, TMC, AIMIM, CPI, DMK, Naga People’s Front, SP, CPIML and Social Democratic Party of India.

The BJP, National People’s Party, AIADMK, SAD and majority NDA allies, including AJSU, Apna Dal (Soney Lal), JDU, LJP and RLP backed the idea.

Importantly, the JMM, Kerala Congress, NCP, RJD, RSP, SDF, TDP, YSRCP did not respond to the committee’s requests for feedback.

The panel also received responses from four former Chief Justices of India — Dipak Misra, Ranjan Gogoi, SA Bobde and UU Lalit. All backed the plan and said the concern that it was anti-federal or against the basic structure of the Constitution was misplaced.

Based on suggestions received from political parties, experts, and other stakeholders, the panel took a unanimous view that simultaneous elections would “bring fundamental transformation in the electoral process and overall governance, result in optimising scarce resources, encourage voters to participate in the electoral process in larger numbers, and mitigate the effect of disruptions to governance and policy paralysis resulting from repeated application of the Model Code of Conduct and its adverse impact on economic growth.”

On the political side, the ruling BJP has taken a significant step today towards fulfilling its 2019 and 2024 LS election manifesto promise. The government, however, realises the eventual rollout of the idea would not be a cakewalk as it requires several constitutional amendments, many which need ratification from state Assemblies too.

Besides, the BJP on its own is 25 seats short of majority in the Rajya Sabha and 32 in the Lok Sabha. It would need a broad consensus to revert to the simultaneous poll system that was followed in India for the first three General Election — 1952, 1957, and 1962.

From the 1960s, however, the emergency provision contained in Article 356 was used to dissolve state legislative Assemblies before the expiry of their tenure. In addition, circumstances such as a hung House, no-confidence motions, and other such events resulted in premature dissolution

of the House.

As a result, over time, elections to the House of the People and state legislative Assemblies became progressively asymmetric.