One Nation, One Election

One Nation, One Election is a proposal under consideration by the Government of India to synchronise elections for the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament) and all state assemblies. It intends to hold these elections simultaneously, either on a single day or within a specific time frame.

History

The first few general elections post-independence were held simultaneously, with the state legislative assembly elections. While the practice continued till 1967, due to the premature dissolution of some state assemblies in 1968 and 1969, the system of simultaneous elections was disrupted. Since 2014, Narendra Modi, who was then Chief Minister of Gujarat, has been espousing simultaneous elections stating that it will reduce wastage of public money, and will ensure the smooth flow of development work, which otherwise gets arrested when the model code of conduct is in force.

In August 2018, the Law Commission of India released its draft report on simultaneous elections. In order to conduct such simultaneous elections, it said that there needs to be made appropriate amendments to the constitution, the Representation of the People Act 1951, and the Rules of Procedure of Lok Sabha and state Assemblies. It said that the Constitution, the Representation of the People's Act 1951 and the Rules of Procedure of Lok Sabha and State Assemblies would require appropriate amendments to conduct simultaneous polls. The commission also recommended it receive ratification from at least 50% of the States. However, with respect to the advantages of holding simultaneous polls, the commission said that it will lead to the saving of public money, reducing the strain on the administrative setup and security forces, timely implementation of government policies, and administrative focus on development activities rather than electioneering.

Reasoning and Need

According to an estimate deliberated in a parliamentary panel discussion, elections to the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies cost the Election Commission of India more than Rs 4,500 crore. This is besides the declared and undeclared poll expenses by candidates and political parties. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice in its 79th report on "Feasibility of Holding Simultaneous Elections to the House of People (Lok Sabha) and State Assemblies, 2015" recommended holding of polls in two phases, which it said was a more practical method of approaching the subject. The first phase could be held in November 2016, said the report, which was tabled the previous year. Polls to all state legislatures whose terms end before or after a time period of six months to one year from the election date, could be brought together. So, the parliamentary panel was of the view that the term of some assemblies would have to be shortened, while the remaining could be extended in order to hold simultaneous elections.

High-Level Committee

High Level Committee

High Level Committee on One Nation One Election
Formation	September 2, 2023 (2023-09-02)
Purpose	To suggest a framework for synchronisation of elections and specifically, suggest the phases and time frame within which simultaneous elections may be held if they cannot be held in one go and also suggest any amendments to the Constitution and other laws in this regard and propose such rules that may be required in such circumstances.
Headquarters	New Delhi
Secretary General	Dr. Niten Chandra
Chairman of the Committee	Ramnath Kovind
Key people	Amit Shah Ghulam Nabi Azad N.K Singh Dr. Subhash C.Kashyap Harish Salve Sanjay Kothari Arjun Ram Meghwal
Parent organization	Government of India
Website	https://onoe.gov.in/

On 2 September 2023, the Government of India issued a notification constituting a high-level committee to examine the issue of simultaneous elections. This notification states:

"WHEREAS elections to the House of the People and Legislative Assemblies of States were mostly held simultaneously from 1951-52 to 1967 after which this cycle got broken and now, elections are held almost every year and within a year too at different times, which result in massive expenditure by the Government and other stakeholders, diversion of security forces and other electoral officers engaged in such elections from their primary duties for significantly prolonged periods, disruption in developmental work on account of prolonged application of Model Code of Conduct, etc.;

AND WHEREAS the Law Commission of India in its 170th Report on Reforms of the Electoral Laws observed that: "This cycle of elections every year, and in the out of season, should be put an end to. We must go back to the situation where the elections to Lok Sabha and all the Legislative Assemblies are held at once. It is true that we cannot conceive or provide for all the situations and eventualities that may arise whether on account of the use of Article 356 (which of course has come down substantially af ter the decision of Supreme Court in S.R. Bommai vs Union of India) or for other reasons, yet the holding of a separate election to a Legislative Assembly should be an exception and not the rule. The rule ought to be 'one election once in five years for Lok S abha and all the Legislative Assemblies'.";

AND WHEREAS the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice in its 79th Report on 'Feasibility of Holding Simultaneous Election to the House of People (Lok Sabha) and State Legislative Assemblies' submitted in December, 2015 has also examined the matter and recommended an alternative and practical method of holding simultaneous elections in two phases;

NOW, THEREFORE, in view of the above and that in the national interest it is desirable to have simultaneous e lections in the country, the Government of India hereby constitutes a High Level Committee [hereinafter referred to as 'HLC'] to examine the issue of simultaneous elections and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections in the country."

This committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of former President of India Ram Nath Kovind. Other members of this committee are:

• Amit Shah, Union Home Minister
• Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
• Former Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad
• Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission NK Singh
• Lok Sabha's Former Secretary General Dr Subhash C Kashyap
• Senior Advocate Harish Salve
• Former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari

Reactions

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that once the committee submits its report, it will be discussed in the public domain and Parliament. He said "There is nothing to be nervous about, as discussions will be held. We are the world's largest democracy and we are known as the mother of democracy. This is the evolution of democracy in the mother of democracy."

Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar said that the Commission is ready to conduct elections as per legal provisions.

Calling it a "total eyewash", committee's member Chowdhury said he cannot be part of the committee, as the "terms of reference" of the committee "have been prepared in a manner to guarantee its conclusions." Congress leader P. Chidambaram said that the government was accelerating the process with the appointment of a "puppet committee." He said that by combining national and state elections, the BJP hopes to win the Lok Saba poll with a two-third majority and win enough states. Former law minister Kapil Sibal said that "One Nation One Election will be the downfall of the Modi government". He said the Modi government is playing with fire and they will not simply singe their hands but destruct the government.