On Thursday, Union Cabinet approved the ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill and the draft laws will now be presented to the Parliament. According to sources, the law may be introduced at the current winter session of the Parliament.
At a cabinet meeting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over, the decision was made.
The government is keen on holding wider consultations on bills which are likely to be referred to a parliamentary committee.
According to sources, the government was also eager to use the committee to consult with the speakers of the various state legislative assemblies.
As part of its ‘one nation, one election’ strategy, the government agreed in September to the high-level committee’s suggestions to hold simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and local bodies in stages.
Following a national effort to reach a consensus, the group, which was chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind, issued 11 recommendations.
11 recommendations made by One Nation, One Election panel
1) The committee came to the conclusion that having elections frequently has a detrimental effect on society, politics, and the economy. To lessen this load, it suggested holding simultaneous elections again.
2) Aligning the dates of the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections is the first step. Within a hundred days, municipal and panchayat elections will be held in tandem with these.
3) In order to maintain synchronization, the President may announce the date of the Lok Sabha’s meeting as the “appointed date” after a general election.
4) The tenure of recently established state assembly will be shortened to align with the upcoming general elections.
5) To supervise and guarantee the effective implementation of these reforms, the committee suggests forming an implementation group.
6) It recommends amending Article 325 to establish a single voter list and photo ID card for all elections, as well as introducing Article 324A to enable simultaneous elections for Panchayats and Municipalities.
7) New elections will be held in the event of a hung house or no-confidence motion; however, the newly elected house’s term will only last until the following general election.
8) Elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies will be held concurrently during the first phase. Municipal and panchayat elections will take place in the second phase, 100 days after the state and Lok Sabha elections.
9) In the event of a no-confidence motion or hung house, the committee pushes for fresh elections. State assemblies will continue until the end of the Lok Sabha’s term, unless it is dissolved early, while the newly elected Lok Sabha will serve the remainder of the previous one.
10) To guarantee effective election administration, the Election Commission is encouraged to make proactive plans for the acquisition of necessary equipment, such as EVMs and VVPATs.
11) The committee suggests a single voter list and ID card system for all elections; however, this will need a constitutional modification that the states must ratify.
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