The Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday cleared two Bills linked to One Nation One Election Bill, moving one step closer to the implementation of the ruling government's ambitious plan on simultaneous polls.
The Union Cabinet approved two Bills today — a Constitutional amendment Bill to conduct elections for the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies together, and another ordinary Bill to align elections for the Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir assemblies.
The Cabinet clearance now paves the way for the introduction of the two Bills in Parliament. The Centre is learnt to be keen on introducing the Bill in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.
The development comes less than three months after the Cabinet accepted the report of the committee led by former President Ram Nath Kovind recommending simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the first step, and municipal bodies and panchayats in the second.
"This is an important step towards making our democracy even more vibrant and participative," Prime Minister Narendra Modi had then said. The government, however, is yet to mention whether it plans to implement simultaneous polls in 2029 or 2034.
What happens next?
The Centre plans to roll out its ambitious project in 2029 or 2034. However, there are a number of steps that achieving this will entail.
The first and foremost would be to get the Bills cleared in both Houses of Parliament. The Ramnath Kovind committee, which has prepared the framework of the ONOE concept and submitted its report after extensive deliberations, has recommended 15 amendments to the Constitution of India.
These changes are in the form of new provisions and changes to existing provisions which will need be to be carried out through two Constitution Amendment Bills.
The first Bill will deal with the transition to a simultaneous election system, and the procedure for fresh elections to Lok Sabha or a state Assembly before the expiration of their stipulated five-year term. The second Bill will then deal with municipal and panchayat elections, as well as the creation of a Single Electoral Roll by the Election Commission of India (ECI), with details of every voter and the seat for which they are eligible to vote.
For now, the Centre may choose to introduce the Bills and then send it to a joint parliamentary committee. The process is expected to see widespread consultations and awareness campaigns on behalf of the government.
How will the changes be carried out?
Amendments to the Constitution require that they be cleared through Parliament. As per the Kovind panel report, the first Bill, as per the report, would begin by inserting a new article— 82A —into the Constitution to establish the process by which the country will move to a system of simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.
Article 82A(1) will state that “on the date of the first sitting of the House of the People after a general election”, the President will issue a notification bringing Article 82A into effect. The date of this notification “shall be called the Appointed date”.
Article 82A(2) will state that “all the Legislative Assemblies constituted in any general election held after the appointed date shall come to an end on the expiry of the full term of the House of the People”.
The proposed Article 82A(3) would require the Election Commission of India to hold “General elections to the House of the People and the Legislative Assemblies simultaneously”.
What is the arithmetic in Parliament?
Any Constitutional amendment requires a simple majority of the total membership of either House and two-thirds of the Members present and voting. Each House has to pass it with this requisite majority before it can be moved in the other House.
Effectively, if all 543 members of the Lok Sabha are present and voting when these Constitution amendment Bills are brought to the House, they will require the support of 362 Members to pass through. The NDA currently has 293 MPs in the Lok Sabha. In Rajya Sabha, where the NDA has 121 MPs while the two-third figure stands at 164.
Can ONOE be challenged in court?
Experts believe that the ONOE Bills are likely to pose serious legal challenges for the government. The primary argument ere is that the concept of ONOE affects the principle of federalism since it deprives the people of a state of their right to stable governance by limiting the term of representatives who will be elected only for the "unexpired period".
This concern pertains to the ONOE report which lays down the process to be followed in the event of a state government falling mid-term. In such a case, fresh elections will be held and the elected government will be in power only for the period of the remaining term of the Assembly.
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