Simultaneous Elections (One Nation, One Election)

Simultaneous elections means holding elections to the Lok Sabha and all State Legislative Assemblies at the same time, so that a voter casts both votes in one election season. The idea is popularly called "One Nation, One Election" (ONOE). India did this in its early years, but the common cycle broke down. Bringing it back needs changes to the Constitution, because the Constitution today lets each House run on its own five-year clock.

Why is it being proposed?

Today, some state goes to the polls almost every year. Supporters list these reasons for syncing elections:

• Cost: one combined round of elections could save money for the government and for parties.
• Governance: the Model Code of Conduct (rules that limit new government schemes and announcements once elections are declared) would apply less often, so development work would face fewer pauses.
• Manpower: teachers, police and security forces are pulled away for election duty again and again; combined polls would reduce this.
• Voter fatigue: fewer elections could raise voter interest and turnout.

Where did it come from?

The first general elections of 1951-52 were held together for the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies. This continued in 1957, 1962 and 1967. The cycle broke in 1968 and 1969, when several State Assemblies were dissolved early. The Lok Sabha itself was dissolved early in 1970, and fresh Lok Sabha elections were held in 1971. After that, the schedules drifted further apart. The idea has been studied many times since:

• Law Commission, 170th Report (1999), "Reform of Electoral Laws": supported a return to simultaneous elections.
• Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, 79th Report (17 December 2015): examined feasibility and suggested ways to hold them together.
• NITI Aayog discussion paper (January 2017): written by Bibek Debroy and Kishore Desai; suggested a two-phase approach.
• Law Commission draft report (30 August 2018), chaired by Justice B.S. Chauhan: said simultaneous elections cannot happen within the existing constitutional framework; changes to the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and House rules would be needed.
• High-Level Committee chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind: set up on 2 September 2023; submitted an 18,626-page report to the President on 14 March 2024. The Union Cabinet accepted its recommendations in September 2024.

What did the Kovind Committee recommend?

A two-step plan:

1. Step one: hold Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections together.
2. Step two: hold municipality and panchayat elections within 100 days of the first step. For this, it suggested a new Article 324A, which would need ratification by at least half the states because local bodies are a state subject. It also recommended a single electoral roll and voter ID prepared by the Election Commission in consultation with State Election Commissions.

What does the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 do?

It was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 17 December 2024. The motion to introduce it was carried by 269 votes to 198 in a division (a recorded vote). It was then referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee. It covers only the first step (Lok Sabha and Assemblies), not local bodies. Its main provisions:

• New Article 82A(1), the "appointed date": the President notifies this date on the day of the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election.
• Article 82A(2): every State Assembly elected after the appointed date will end its term together with the full term of the Lok Sabha, even if that means a shorter term for the Assembly.
• Article 82A(3): the Election Commission of India (ECI) will then hold general elections to the Lok Sabha and all Assemblies together.
• Article 82A(5): if the ECI feels an Assembly election cannot be held together with the Lok Sabha election, it can recommend to the President that it be held later. That Assembly's term will still end with the Lok Sabha's term.
• Articles 83 and 172 (amended): if the Lok Sabha or an Assembly is dissolved early, the fresh election is only for the unexpired term, meaning the time left of the original five years. This keeps the common cycle intact.
• Article 327 (amended): Parliament's law-making power on elections will include the "conduct of simultaneous elections".

The companion Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 makes the same change for Union Territories with legislatures, by amending the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. Since the appointed date can come only after the 2029 Lok Sabha election, the first fully simultaneous elections could happen in 2034 at the earliest.

How does the "unexpired term" work? A simple example

Suppose the common cycle starts in 2034, so all Houses end in 2039. If a State Assembly is dissolved in 2036, the new Assembly elected in 2036 will sit only until 2039, not until 2041. So the state rejoins the common cycle at the next round.

How does a constitutional amendment like this pass?

Under Article 368, most amendments need a special majority in each House: a majority of the total membership, and two-thirds of members present and voting. Some amendments that affect states' powers also need ratification by at least half the State legislatures. The government's view is that this Bill does not need state ratification because it covers Parliament and Assemblies, not local bodies; critics dispute this.

Commonly confused concepts

• Simultaneous elections vs single-day polling: simultaneous means the elections to different Houses happen in the same cycle. Voting can still be spread over several phases and dates, as it is today.
• 129th Amendment Bill vs the Kovind Committee's full plan: the Bill covers only Lok Sabha and Assemblies. The Committee's second step (local bodies within 100 days, Article 324A) is not in this Bill.
• Joint Parliamentary Committee vs Kovind Committee: the Kovind Committee was a government-appointed expert panel that designed the proposal. The JPC is a committee of MPs that examines the actual Bills now before Parliament.
• "Unexpired term" vs full term: after an early dissolution, a new House today gets a fresh five years. Under the Bill, it would get only the time left in the original term.
• Article 83 vs Article 172: Article 83 deals with the duration of the Houses of Parliament; Article 172 with the duration of State Legislatures.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

• Federalism: critics argue that cutting short an Assembly's term to match the Lok Sabha weakens states' independence and makes state politics follow the national cycle. Supporters reply that every state's voters still choose their own government.
• Basic structure: some legal experts question whether the changes affect democracy and federalism, which are basic features of the Constitution. Supporters say the Bill only changes the timing of elections, not the right to vote.
• Accountability: today, a government that loses the House's confidence faces voters again. Critics fear that shortened "unexpired term" governments and fewer elections may reduce how often governments face the public.
• National issues overshadowing local ones: some studies suggest voters may lean towards the same party at both levels when elections are held together. Others argue Indian voters often split their votes.
• ECI's power under Article 82A(5): the power to recommend delaying an Assembly election has drawn concern, since the Bill does not spell out the conditions for using it.
• Logistics: combined elections would need many more Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), VVPATs and security forces at one time.
• Way forward: suggestions include building political consensus, setting clear limits on the ECI's deferral power, considering a "constructive vote of no-confidence" (a House can remove a government only if it agrees on a replacement) to reduce early dissolutions, and phased implementation, as the NITI Aayog paper proposed.

Concepts to Know

• Dissolution: ending the life of the Lok Sabha or an Assembly before or at the end of its term, which leads to fresh elections. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent House and is never dissolved.
• Model Code of Conduct: a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission that parties and governments must follow from the announcement of elections until results. For example, a government cannot announce new schemes during this time.
• Division (in Parliament): a formal vote where each member's vote is recorded, instead of a voice vote.
• Ratification by states: approval of a constitutional amendment by resolutions of at least half the State Legislatures, needed for amendments that affect the federal structure (Article 368(2) proviso).
• VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail): a machine attached to the EVM that prints a slip so the voter can check that the vote went to the chosen candidate.
• Appointed date: the date, notified by the President, from which the new simultaneous-election rules start to apply.