NEW DELHI: Ahead of the government introducing the ‘One Nation, One Election’ bill in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the law ministry said the idea of simultaneous polls would align the Lok Sabha and state assembly election cycles. Voting could still take place in multiple stages, but not necessarily on the same day across the country.
“Voters will vote in their constituencies for both tiers of government (parliamentary and parliamentary) on the same day, but voting may take place in stages across the country,” the ministry said in a briefing statement.
For the first 15 years from 1951-52 to 1967, simultaneous elections to Parliament and Parliament were held, the report said, adding that due to premature dissolution of some state assemblies, this cycle of simultaneous elections ended in 1968. It added that it was discontinued in 1969. Some states, such as Tripura and Nagaland, which were created later, did not match the Lok Sabha polls.
The first government to be dissolved under Article 356 was the Left-wing government in Kerala in 1959. The non-Congress governments in Punjab, Haryana, UP and Bihar were similarly dissolved and presidential rule was imposed in 1968.
The BJP has accused the Congress of abusing Article 356 at least 50 times to dissolve elected governments in states.
“The Fourth National Assembly was also dissolved prematurely in 1970, and new elections were held in 1971. 352 people due to the state of emergency declaration, which was extended until 1977 based on Article 2.
Since then, the term of office for members of the National Assembly has lasted five years only a few times, including in the 8th, 10th, 14th, and 15th terms. Other groups such as the 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 12th, and 13th were disbanded early.
Parliament was dissolved early three times within a year and a half. The 9th National Assembly was dissolved on March 13, 1991, within 1 year and 3 months. The 11th National Assembly was again dissolved on December 4, 1997, within one year and six months. The 12th National Diet was dissolved on April 26, 1999, after a short period of one year and one month. The next parliament was also dissolved on February 6, 2004, eight months ahead of schedule.
The ministry said the High-Level Committee on Simultaneous Elections, headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, has been leading the way for changes in India’s electoral process by proposing to coordinate these elections.
“A proposed phased approach to holding simultaneous elections, along with constitutional amendments, could pave the way for a more efficient and stable electoral environment in India,” the report said. The government claims that the proposed simultaneous elections have broad public and political support because they would streamline the country’s democratic processes and strengthen governance efficiency.
The Kovind Committee received over 21,500 responses and 80% were in favor of simultaneous elections. People in most states and UTs supported holding elections simultaneously, including those in rebel-held states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and West Bengal.
Of the 47 parties that sent responses, 32 supported simultaneous polls and 15 expressed concerns about potential anti-democratic effects and marginalization of regional parties.
Despite electronic voting options, a minority take the voting route
The voting process for the introduction of the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Amendment Bill 2024 was not all smooth sailing. Although there is provision for new members of parliament to vote electronically, some members insisted on exercising their right to vote through ballots. Those in favor of the automatic voting recording system installed in each seat had to press a green button, those opposed to it had to press a red button, and members who wanted to abstain had to press a yellow button. 369 MPs voted via voting machines and the remaining 92 via slips. However, due to confusion, the vote had to be held twice, and some MPs still chose to vote by paper ballot. A total of 269 MPs voted in favor of the bill and 198 others opposed, and the bill was approved for introduction in the House of Representatives.
