The Union Cabinet on Wednesday (September 18, 2024) accepted the recommendations of the high-level committee, headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, that had proposed simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies as the first step, and municipal and panchayat polls within 100 days of the general election in the next phase.
“This is an important step towards making our democracy even more vibrant and participative,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a strong votary of simultaneous polls, said in a post on X.
Calling it a giant stride towards electoral reforms, Home Minister Amit Shah, in a post on X, said, “This reflects Modi Ji’s iron will to bolster our democracy through clean and financially efficient elections and accelerate economic growth through more productive allocation of resources”.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, however, dismissed the idea as “impractical”. “This is against the Constitution, this is contrary to democracy, this is against federalism. The country will never accept this,” he said.
Announcing the Union Cabinet’s approval to the proposal of simultaneous elections at a media briefing, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said an implementation group would be formed to take forward the recommendations of the Kovind panel. He said detailed discussions would be held on various fora across the country over the next few months.
“Our government believes in creating a consensus on items that affect our democracy, the nation in the long run. And this is a subject that will strengthen our democracy, Centre-State relations...,” Mr. Vaishnaw said.
Asked if the government had a specific timeline such as the 2029 Lok Sabha election for its implementation, Mr. Vaishnaw said the implementation would take place after completing the legal processes.
The report of the Kovind panel, which ran into more than 18,000 pages, was submitted to President Droupadi Murmu in March.
To synchronise the elections, the committee has suggested that the President, through a notification issued on the first sitting of the Lok Sabha post general elections, set an ‘Appointed Date’. This date would mark the beginning of the new electoral cycle.
State Assemblies, that are formed after the date and before the completion of the Lok Sabha’s term, would conclude before the subsequent general elections. After this, election to the Lok Sabha and all State Assemblies would be held simultaneously.
The Committee had factored scenarios such as a hung House, or a no-confidence motion, and recommended amendments to Article 83 (duration of Houses of Parliament) and Article 172 (duration of State legislatures) of the Constitution.
It recommended a common electoral roll, which would need coordination between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and State Election Commissions (SECs). The ECI is responsible for the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, while the local body elections for municipalities and panchayats are managed by the SECs. The proposed changes regarding the single electoral roll and single voter ID card would need ratification by at least half of the States.
In all, the Kovind panel has recommended 18 constitutional amendments, most of which will not need ratification by State Assemblies.
However, any Constitutional amendment Bill needs to be passed by a two-third majority in each house of Parliament. In the 543-member Lok Sabha, the National Democratic Alliance would need 364 votes, well above of its current strength of 293 in the 18th Lok Sabha. Similarly, in the Rajya Sabha, the two-third majority mark is 164, which is way above the NDA’s current strength of 121 MPs. The ruling alliance would need support from parties outside the NDA to push through the proposed change.
Other than the Ram Nath Kovind Committee, the Law Commission is likely to come up soon with its own report on simultaneous polls. Earlier, Law Commission sources had indicated that the commission is likely to recommend holding simultaneous polls for all three tiers of the government -- the Lok Sabha, State Assemblies and local bodies like municipalities and panchayats -- starting 2029 and a provision for a unity government in cases like a hung House.
Between 1951 and 1967, the country did have simultaneous polls, but the cycle got disturbed due to various reasons, including mid-term elections. In the recently concluded Lok Sabha election, Assembly polls were held in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. The electoral process for Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana Assemblies are currently on; Maharashtra and Jharkhand are scheduled to go to polls in the next couple of months.
In 2025, Delhi and Bihar are among the states that will go to polls while the terms of the Assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry will end a year later in 2026. Assembly elections will be held in 2027 in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Gujarat, Manipur and Punjab while the terms of the State Assemblies in Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Telangana will end in 2028.
Published - September 18, 2024 03:14 pm IST