 "'One Nation One Election' Bill tabled; Congress calls it unconstitutional")
The 'One Nation, One Election' Bill was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The proposal aims to conduct simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, state Assemblies, and local bodies.
On December 12, the Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the proposal. The constitutional amendment bill seeks to establish provisions for holding Lok Sabha and state legislative Assembly elections simultaneously.
Although a high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind recommended conducting municipal and panchayat elections alongside national and state elections in a phased approach, the Cabinet has refrained from taking any decisions regarding local body elections at this stage.
Opposition demands withdrawal
Following the tabling of the 'One Nation One Election' Bill, the Congress demanded its immediate withdrawal, calling it “an assault on the basic structure of the Constitution.”
Congress MP Manish Tewari criticised the bill, arguing that it undermines the fundamental principles of the Constitution.
Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav accused the BJP-led government of attempting to impose authoritarian rule. He claimed the bill would diminish India’s diversity and weaken its federal structure.
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Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee pointed out that the essence of the Constitution’s basic structure is implied rather than explicitly stated. He described the bill as unconstitutional and said it directly challenges the Constitution.
“It is not an election reform, it is just a fulfilment of one gentleman’s dreams,” Banerjee added.
What does the bill propose?
A draft of the bill, released on December 13, outlines that if the Lok Sabha or any state Assembly is dissolved before completing its full five-year term, midterm elections will be conducted only for the remainder of that term.
The bill proposes the introduction of article 82A, which mandates simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and all state legislative Assemblies. It also calls for amendments to:
• Article 83 (duration of Houses of Parliament),
• Article 172, and
• Article 327 (power of Parliament to make provisions with respect to elections to Legislatures).
The amendments will take effect from an appointed date, to be declared by the President. This date will coincide with the first sitting of the Lok Sabha following a general election.
According to the bill’s timeline, the appointed date will follow the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, with simultaneous elections expected to begin in 2034. The Lok Sabha’s tenure will then be fixed at five years from the appointed date, and future state Assemblies will align their terms with the Lok Sabha’s tenure.
If the Lok Sabha or any state Assembly is dissolved before its term ends, the newly elected body will serve only for the remainder of the original term.