NEW DELHI: The implementation of ‘One nation, One election’ would require amendments to the Constitution of India as per the recommendations of the Ram Nath Kovind committee, the Centre informed Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
The decision regarding implementation of the high-level committee’s recommendations is contingent upon examination of various aspects including legal and constitutional aspects, said Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said.
The Modi government had appointed the Kovind panel in September 2023 to examine the feasibility of holding simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies. However, several experts said that to pass the amendments, the government should have two-third majority in the House.
Replying to a question on the current status of the ‘One Nation One Election’ proposal and the key challenges identified by the government in its implementation, Meghwal said that the committee has recommended that it would require amendments to the Constitution.
He said that the Kovind committee had submitted its report on simultaneous elections to the President on March 14, 2024. The committee invited viewpoints from various stakeholders. It held 65 meetings and after extensive deliberations, submitted its report, which the government has published on its official website, he said.
One of the key proposals was that a one-time transitory measure would be necessary to synchronise the Lok Sabha and assembly elections. The committee recommended that the President of India may, by a notification issued on the date of the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election, bring into force the provision of this Article and that the date of the notification shall be called the ‘Appointed Date’.
The tenure of all state legislative assemblies, constituted by elections after the Appointed Date and before the expiry of the full term of the Lok Sabha, shall be only for the period ending up to the subsequent general elections to the Lok Sabha. Thereafter, all general elections to the Lok Sabha and all assemblies shall be held together simultaneously.
The committee also recommended that an implementation group be constituted to look into the execution of its recommendations.
The rollout of ‘simultaneous elections’ will begin in 2029, if the newly elected government in 2024 accepts the Kovind committee’s recommendations and introduces constitutional amendments in Parliament.
In essence, the tenures of several state assemblies would have to be curtailed or extended between 2024 and 2029 for this.
Panel’s recommendation
The President of India may, by a notification issued on the date of the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election, bring into force the provision of an Article. After this, the tenure of all state assemblies shall be only for the period ending up to the next Lok Sabha elections.