One Nation One Election Committee Gets Extension Till Winter Session
The Lok Sabha approved a resolution extending the deadline for the parliamentary committee examining the "One Nation, One Election" (simultaneous elections) proposal, moving its report submission deadline to the first day of the last week of the Winter Session
The extension was passed by voice vote
The committee is examining the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, which seeks to enable simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies
Nationwide consultations with stakeholders and political parties are ongoing as part of the committee's deliberations, with the government's stated target of implementing simultaneous elections from 2029
Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC): Composition and Function
A Joint Parliamentary Committee is an ad hoc committee constituted by a motion adopted in one House and concurred in by the other, typically to scrutinise a specific bill or matter in greater detail than is possible on the floor of the House. Unlike Standing Committees, a JPC is dissolved once its task is complete.
The extension granted to the JPC on simultaneous elections illustrates the standard procedural mechanism by which Parliament allows more time for a committee examining a constitutional amendment bill, especially one requiring extensive nationwide consultation.
Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024: Simultaneous Elections Framework
The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 seeks to synchronise elections to the Lok Sabha and all State Legislative Assemblies by inserting a new Article 82A and amending Articles 83, 172, and 327. A connected bill also proposes changes for Union Territories, including Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, and Puducherry.
The JPC's extended deadline reflects the scale of constitutional and federal issues raised by the 129th Amendment Bill — the committee must reconcile the proposed Article 82A mechanism with existing provisions on the tenure of Houses before finalising its recommendations.
Federalism and the Basic Structure Doctrine in Constitutional Amendments
Any amendment altering the tenure or removal mechanism of elected state legislatures touches upon federalism, which the Supreme Court has held to be part of the Constitution's "basic structure" and therefore beyond the amending power of Parliament under Article 368, per Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973).
Key Details
- Kesavananda Bharati (1973) established that Parliament's power to amend the Constitution under Article 368 does not extend to altering its "basic structure," which includes federalism, democracy, and free and fair elections
- Concerns raised around simultaneous elections proposals include premature dissolution of state assemblies (mid-term collapse of a state government would still require special provisions) and the compression of regional issues into a national election cycle
- The Election Commission of India's constitutional mandate under Article 324 (superintendence, direction, and control of elections) would need to be read alongside any new synchronisation mechanism
The ongoing nationwide consultations by the committee are, in effect, testing whether the proposed synchronisation mechanism can be implemented without infringing the basic structure principles of federalism and democratic accountability of state legislatures.
- Bill under examination: Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024
- High-Level Committee on simultaneous elections: chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind, constituted September 2023
- High-Level Committee report: approximately 18,000 pages, submitted to the President, recommended simultaneous elections from 2029
- Recommended rollout: Lok Sabha and State Assemblies together first; Municipalities and Panchayats within 100 days thereafter
- JPC strength: 41 members
- Political party responses to the Kovind panel: 47 parties submitted views, of which 32 supported and 15 opposed the proposal
- Constitutional articles proposed to be inserted/amended: Article 82A (new), Articles 83, 172, and 327
- Amendment route: requires special majority under Article 368