In December 2024, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi approved two important constitution amendment bills regarding One Nation, One Election (ONOE), which aimed to conduct simultaneous Lok Sabha elections with state legislative assemblies and local bodies across the country in a phased manner.
- The 1st bill named the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 will enable the terms of the Lok Sabha and state assemblies to be synchronized.
- The Second bill named The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 aims to align elections in the Union Territories (UTs) of Puducherry, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) with Lok Sabha elections.
Note: The 1st general elections to the Lok Sabha (the Lower House of the Parliament) and state assemblies were held simultaneously in 1951-52 and this continued for 3 subsequent general elections in 1957, 1962 and 1967.
Background:
i.In September 2023, the Government of India (GoI) constituted the High-Level Committee on Simultaneous Elections under the chairmanship of former President of India Ram Nath Kovind.
ii.It has suggested conducting simultaneous elections in two phases like: In 1st phase, conduct Lok Sabha and Assembly elections simultaneously and In 2nd phase, conduct local body elections (panchayat and municipalities) within 100 days of general elections.
- It has recommended creating a unified Electoral Roll and Single EPIC for all 3-tiers of government.
- It has suggested of introducing amendments to Article 82A and 324A of the Indian Constitution to enable simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, State Assemblies, and local bodies.
About the Constitution 129th Amendment Bill, 2024:
i.The bill has recommended to insert Article 82(A) which means to conduct simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies.
ii.It further suggested to amend Article 83 which deals with the duration of both Houses of the Parliament, and to Article 172 and 327 which deals with power of Parliament to make provisions regarding elections to legislatures.
iii.By amending article 327, the words “conduct of simultaneous elections” will be inserted after the words “delimitation of constituencies”.
v.As per the bill, if the Lok Sabha or any state assembly is dissolved before the completion of full-term, then mid-term elections for that legislature will be held for the remainder of the 5-year term.
iv.The provisions of the bill will come into force after an “appointed” date, notified by the President of India after the 1st sitting of a newly elected Lok Sabha.
About the Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2024:
The Bill has proposed certain amendments to Section 5 of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963; Section 5 of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991; and Section 17 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
- These amendments will help in synchronising elections with those of the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.
