The Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its nod to the one nation, one election proposal on Sep 18, 2024. In September 2023, a high-level committee was established to expedite the simultaneous election process.

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The panel headed by Ram Nath Kovind had submitted the report containing 18,626 pages earlier in March. It is the result of the interaction with the stakeholders and research since its constitution on 2 September 2023.

There was further clarification by the Union Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw. He said that between 1951 and 1967, general elections were conducted simultaneously. 

As Modi’s 3.0 completes its 100 days, Amit Shah announced that India would implement One Nation, One Election in his third term as Home Minister.

One Nation, One Election: What did Ram Nath Kovinds report propose?

During this period, the committee suggested that the Indian Parliament aptly call general elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies. It would enable the people across the country to vote for representatives in Parliament as well as in their respective states.

What are the 11 recommendations made by the panel?

• The decision of the committee negatively affects the economy, politics, and society as a whole by conducting several elections annually. To avoid this burden, the paper proposes returning to having simultaneous elections.

• The first thing is to fix a date for the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections. Within 100 days, the municipal and panchayat elections will start.

• The President may declare the appointed date after the general election. This will maintain a healthy synchronization of all the components.

• The terms of any new state assemblies formed after this date will be reduced to conduct the forthcoming general elections.

• The committee suggests forming an implementation group to carry out these actions to the required standards.

• It recommends the amendment of Article 325 to provide for the compilation of a single electoral register with a photograph and an identification card valid for all elections and the insertion of a new Article 324A for concurrent elections in panchayats and municipalities.

• If there is a vote of no confidence, early elections will be held, and they will continue until the general elections.

• The first action will involve conducting elections for both the state assemblies and the Lok Sabha currently. The second step is the preparation of conducting the panchayat and municipal elections. It will occur within a hundred days of the state and Lok Sabha elections.

• The Election Commission should also plan for the acquisition of the election materials that will facilitate a proper election, such as the VVPATs and EVMs.

• The committee proposes that the voter registration should be as well as the single identity card for all the elections. There will be a need to make a change in the constitution, and the States have to approve it. 

• In the first step, simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies will occur. In the second step, municipal and panchayat elections will occur within 100 days of state and Lok Sabha elections.

Parties in Support

Though fifteen opposition political parties have turned down the move, many other opposition parties have dumped support.

Furthermore, BSP chief Mayawati and S P chief Akhilesh Yadav have welcomed the move. Some of the other willing opposition parties cited in the panel report include Sharad Pawars Nationalist Congress party, Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress of Jagan Mohan Reddy, Biju Janata Dal, Naveen Patnaik, Bharat Rashtra Samithi led by K Chandrashekar Rao, Sukhbir Badals Shiromani Akali Dal, and Mehbooba Mufti.

Twitter Reactions in Favor

Parties who are not in support

Some of the political parties that have opposed One Nation, One Election are AAP, CPI, CPIM, Congress, AIUDF, Trinamool Congress, AIMIM, DMK, NPF, MDMK, VCK, and SDPI. The Congress and TMC have described it as a cheap stunt.

Twitter Reaction against ‘One Nation, One Election’

One Nation, One Election is only a BJP issue to divert attention. This is against the Constitution, against democracy. This is against federalism. The country will never accept this.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

It remained unclear as of today, Wednesday, September 19th, 2024, what the precise implementation schedule would be, including if the polls would take place concurrently in 2029 or 2034. When reporters questioned Vaishnaw about when the proposals could be put into practice and if a bill will be introduced in the next Winter Session of Parliament, she cited Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, as saying that the government would carry out “One Nation, One Election” within its present term.