'One Nation, One Election' Bill: Key details on 31-member joint committee

One Nation, One Election: Once formed, the Joint Parliamentary Committee will have 90 days to submit its report, though this deadline can be extended if needed

A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) comprising up to 31 MPs will be formed to review the Constitution (129th) Amendment Bill, which seeks to amend the Constitution to allow for simultaneous federal and state elections, NDTV reported.

 

Two Bills were introduced by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, sparking a lengthy and heated debate. After a division vote, the bills passed the first hurdle with ease. A total of 269 MPs voted in favour, while 198 opposed it. Following this, the bills were referred to a JPC for ‘wider consultation’.

Formation of Joint Parliamentary Committee

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is expected to finalise the composition of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which will include members from the Rajya Sabha, within 48 hours. This timeline is critical as the current parliamentary session ends on Friday. If the committee is not formed by then, the bill will expire and will need to be reintroduced in the next session.

 

 

Political parties have been asked to nominate their members to the committee, the news report mentioned. The specific allocation of seats among the parties has not been disclosed, but the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as the largest party in the Lok Sabha, is expected to hold a majority and chair the committee. 

Typically, 21 of the 31 MPs on a JPC are from the Lok Sabha. Once formed, the committee will have 90 days to submit its report, though this deadline can be extended if needed.

Role of Joint Parliamentary Committee

The Joint Parliamentary Committee will engage in extensive consultations with various stakeholders, including MPs outside the committee and constitutional and legal experts, such as former judges and lawyers. Former Election Commission members may also be consulted, as the Commission will play a key role in organising simultaneous elections if the amendments are passed.

 

After gathering feedback, the JPC will examine the entire text of the two bills to amend the Constitution, reviewing each clause before finalising a report.

What does the ONOE Bill propose?

A draft of the bill, circulated on December 13, outlines provisions for conducting midterm elections only for the remainder of the term if the Lok Sabha or any state Assembly is dissolved before completing its full five-year tenure. 

The bill proposes the addition of Article 82(A), which mandates the holding of simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and all state legislative Assemblies. It also calls for amendments to Articles 83 (duration of Houses of Parliament), 172, and 327 (power of Parliament to make provisions with respect to elections to Legislatures).

 

These changes would take effect on an ‘appointed date’, to be declared by the President, coinciding with the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election.

Simultaneous elections set for 2034?

The timeline for implementing the bill suggests that the ‘appointed date’ will follow the next Lok Sabha elections in 2029, with simultaneous elections scheduled to begin in 2034. From this point, the Lok Sabha’s tenure will be fixed at five years, and state Assemblies elected thereafter will have their terms end concurrently with the Lok Sabha’s term.

 

If the Lok Sabha or any state Assembly is dissolved early, the newly elected body will serve only the remaining duration of the original term.

 

For ‘One Nation, One Election’ to become a reality, a constitutional amendment must be passed and ratified by all state and Union Territory governments, and potentially by major political parties. The proposed amendments would affect several Articles, including Articles 83, 85, 172, 174, and 356.