Union Cabinet okays ‘One Nation, One Election Bill’: What is it and why Oppn calls it ‘impractical’ and ‘draconian? | Mint

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet has approved the ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill to be tabled in the Parliament in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.

The bill that paves way for unified elections across the nation has been on the agenda of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for quite some time now. In fact, there have been reports about Union cabinet’s approval of the bill, attributed to sources, earlier too.

In September a report said that the Modi government approved the implementation of the ‘One Nation, One Election’ to conduct simultaneous elections in the country.

Today’s ‘nth approval’, as one political analyst called it on LinkedIn, assumes significance as it comes in the middle of the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament. The Modi government, reports by agencies suggested, wants to table the bill and eventually refer it to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for further scrutiny. 

The Winter Session of Parliament that began on November 25 will run till December 20.

What is ‘One Nation, One Election’?

If rolled out, the Lok Sabha, the Assembly, and the local body (urban or rural) elections will be held in the same year, if not at the same time.

The high-level panel headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind submitted the report in March before the announcement of Lok Sabha elections 2024. The panel said in the report that simultaneous elections could ‘transform the electoral process.’ 

The first step is to hold Lok Sabha and Assembly polls together. Local body elections will be held within 100 days, the panel recommended. The panel also offered suggestions in case an Assembly, or even the Lok Sabha, is dissolved ahead of time, or in case of defections or a hung election.

What next?

Since the Modi cabinet has approved the panel’s report and also the proposed bill, as reported on Thursday, the centre will now move the legislation before the Parliament.

Two bills – one dealing with Lok Sabha and Assembly elections and the other with municipal and panchayat polls – must be cleared by Parliament.

The Kovind panel had recommended amendments to the Constitution to enable simultaneous elections in two steps: Simultaneous elections will be held for Lok Sabha and the state assemblies. Elections to the municipalities and the panchayats will be synchronised with the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies in such a way that municipal and panchayat elections are held within a hundred days of holding Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

The panel also recommended amendments to the Constitution to enable the Election Commission of India to prepare a single electoral roll and EPIC in consultation with the State Election Commissions. These amendments will require ratification by not less than one-half of the States.

At least five Articles of the Constitution must be amended to ensure the smooth implementation of the ‘One Nation, One Election’ plan. Getting these amendments passed in the Parliament could prove challenging for the government.

BJP’s Push

The BJP has been pushing to hold simultaneous elections since it came to power in 2014. The NITI Aayog backed the proposal in 2017, and next year, the then President, Ram Nath Kovind, mentioned it in his address to the joint session of Parliament.

In August 2018, the Law Commission released a draft report examining the legal-constitutional aspects. In his Independence Day speech in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated the need to hold simultaneous elections.

In fact, holding simultaneous elections has been on the party’s 2014 and 2019 election manifestos. “The BJP will seek, through consultation of other parties, to evolve a method of holding Assembly and Lok Sabha elections simultaneously. Apart from reducing election expenses for both political parties and the government, this will ensure certain stability for state governments. We will also look at revising expenditure limits realistically,” read the BJP’s 2014 manifesto.

Arguments in favour

The argument in favour of simultaneous elections is that it will ensure ease and convenience to voters, avoid voters’ fatigue and facilitate greater voter turnout. Also, conducting elections to all three tiers of the government together would avoid disruption of supply chains and production cycles due to migrant workers seeking leave of absence to cast their vote and reduce the financial burden on the government exchequer.

Those favouring it say that frequent elections burden the government exchequer. The frequent use of government officials and security forces adversely affects the discharge of their duties and frequent imposition of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) causes policy paralysis and slows down the pace of the developmental programmes.

“Impractical, draconian,” says Opposition

The proposal has eluded implementation because of resistance from opposition parties. The Congress party has called the bill ‘against democracy and basic structure of the constitution.’

On December 12, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief, Arvind Kejriwal slammed the BJP for its ‘misplaced’ priorities. “The country needs one nation, one education, one nation, one healthcare system, not one nation, one election. BJP’s misplaced priorities,” Kejrwal said in a post on X.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also voiced his opposition, labeling the proposal as ‘draconian’ and ‘anti-democratic.’

“The Union Cabinet has approved introducing the draconian ‘One Nation, One Election Bill’ in Parliament. This impractical and anti-democratic move will erase regional voices, erode federalism, and disrupt governance. Rise up #INDIA! Let us resist this attack on Indian Democracy with all our strength,” Stalin said.

Opposition’s argument against the proposal is that it will marginalise the regional players (parties). This will lead to a homogenization of political discourse and make it difficult for smaller parties and states to put their ideas before the nation, they say.

The first four general elections in India involved simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. The Congress party was in power at both the national and state levels then. Hence it was possible until the fourth general election in 1967.

Later, the elections were held separately due to the advancing of Lok Sabha polls by the Congress. As of now, the Lok Sabha elections coincide with four state assembly elections – Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim.