To implement the plan of holding simultaneous elections in the country, the government is likely to bring 3 bills, out of which 2 will be related to constitutional amendment. One of the proposed constitutional amendment bills relates to holding local body elections along with the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. This will require the support of at least 50 percent of the states. Moving forward with its ‘One Nation, One Election’ plan, the government earlier this month began a nationwide consensus building exercise. After this, the recommendations of the high-level committee to hold simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies in a phased manner were accepted.
The proposed first Constitution Amendment Bill will relate to the provision for simultaneous holding of Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections. Citing the recommendations of the high-level committee, sources said an attempt will be made to amend Article 82A by adding sub-section (1) related to ‘due date’ in the proposed bill. This will include sub-section (2) in Article 82A relating to simultaneous termination of the tenure of the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies. It is also proposed to amend Article 83(2) and insert new sub-sections (3) and (4) related to the tenure of the Lok Sabha and its dissolution. It also has provisions relating to dissolution of assemblies and amending Article 327 to include the words ‘simultaneous elections’.
Will support from state legislatures be needed?
The recommendation said that this bill would not require support from at least 50 percent of the states. The proposed second Constitution Amendment Bill will need the support of at least 50 percent of the state legislatures, as it will deal with subjects related to state affairs. It will propose to amend the constitutional provisions relating to preparation of electoral rolls by the Election Commission in consultation with the State Election Commissions for elections to local bodies. Constitutionally the EC and SEC are separate bodies. The Election Commission conducts elections for the President, Vice President, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Assemblies and State Legislative Councils, while the SEC is empowered to conduct elections for local bodies like municipalities and panchayats.
What will be the provision for holding elections?
The proposed Second Constitution Amendment Bill will also provide for simultaneous holding of elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies as well as elections to Municipalities and Panchayats by adding a new Article 324A. The third bill will be a general bill to amend the provisions of the three laws relating to the Union Territories (Puducherry, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir). The tenure of these Houses can be aligned with that of other Assemblies and the Lok Sabha, as proposed in the First Constitutional Amendment. The laws which are proposed to be amended include the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act-1991, the Union Territory Government Act-1963 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019.
What kind of amendments will be made
The proposed bill would be a general law that would not require an amendment to the Constitution. There will be no need for support from the states. The high-level committee had proposed amendments to three articles, insertion of 12 new sub-sections in existing articles and changes in three laws related to Union Territories with Legislative Assemblies. The total number of amendments and new entries is 18. In its report submitted to the government in March, just before the announcement of Lok Sabha elections this year, the committee had recommended implementing ‘one country, one election’ in two phases. It has suggested simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies in the first phase and elections for local bodies like panchayats and municipal bodies in the second phase within 100 days of the general elections.