One country one election: The path is not easy but what is the government’s plan? What will be the process? Understand each and every thing

New Delhi : The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the recommendations of the Ram Nath Kovind panel on ‘One Nation, One Election’. Its aim is to conduct elections to the Legislative Assembly and local bodies of all the states along with the Lok Sabha. But it is not that easy. To implement this, the government will have to pass not one but two Constitution Amendment Bills, under which many changes will have to be made in the Constitution. Well, what next after the Kovind Committee report is approved by the Cabinet? What is the government’s plan to implement ‘One Nation, One Election’? How will it be implemented? Let’s understand each and every thing. An implementation group will be formed to take forward the recommendations of the Kovind panel. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav told after the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that this group will implement the recommendations given in the report. The report states that simultaneous elections will be implemented in two phases: first for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections and second for local body elections within 100 days of the general elections.

How is the plan to be implemented
First, Lok Sabha and Assembly elections will be held simultaneously. After this, in the second phase, local body elections of panchayats and municipalities will be held within 100 days of the general elections. There will be a single voter list for all elections. The Election Commission of India (ECI) will prepare the voter ID card in consultation with the state election officials. The Center will start a detailed discussion about this across the country. An implementation group will be formed to implement the recommendations of the panel.

Vaishnaw said a large number of parties have supported ‘One Nation, One Election’ and the Centre will try to build a consensus on it in the next few months. he/she also said the Kovind panel’s recommendations will be discussed at various forums across India.

What are the recommendations of the Kovind panel?
According to the Kovind panel, a date should be fixed to notify the move when Parliament is in session. ⁠All assemblies formed from state elections held after that fixed date will only last for a period until the Lok Sabha elections in 2029. This means a date will be fixed after the Lok Sabha elections for the change. The terms of states that go to polls after that date will be curtailed to sync with the general elections.

This means that the tenure of state governments formed between 2024 and 2028 will be only till the Lok Sabha elections of 2029. After that, Lok Sabha and assembly elections will automatically be held together.

For example, a state where elections are to be held in 2025 will have a government with a four-year term, while a state that will have elections in 2027 will have a government for only two years, till 2029. For example, Bihar has assembly elections next year, so to implement ‘ONOE’, the term of its assembly will be till 2029, that is, only 4 years. Similarly, if UP assembly elections are to be held in 2027, then the government formed after that will last for only 2 years. The same will happen in the case of other states as well. Then in 2029, it will be possible to have assembly elections of all states along with Lok Sabha.

⁠The report also recommended that in case of a hung assembly or hung parliament, a no-confidence motion or any similar situation, fresh elections may be held to form a new House – be it the Lok Sabha or state assemblies.

The tenure of the new government formed in this way will also be for the remaining period of the previous full term of the Lok Sabha and the end of this period will act as the dissolution of the House. This can be understood better from the process of by-elections that takes place now. By-elections are held in case a Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha or Rajya Sabha seat becomes vacant. But the tenure of the public representative who wins the by-election is equal to the remaining term of the Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha. In the case of Rajya Sabha also, the tenure of the MP who wins the by-election is only for the time left for the completion of the 6-year term. Exactly in the same way, in the case of a hung parliament or hung assembly, elections will be held but the government that is formed will remain only till the next general elections. That is, if the need for mid-term elections arises after 2 years, then the maximum tenure of the next government will be only 3 years, not 5 years.

Vaishnaw further said that the panel found widespread support for simultaneous elections, following which the Cabinet gave its unanimous approval to the proposal. he/she added that more than 80 per cent of the respondents supported it and opposition parties may face pressure from within to support it.

What next?
If the recommendations of the Kovind panel are to be believed, at least 18 constitutional amendments will be needed for ‘One Nation, One Election’. Most of these constitutional amendments will not require the support of the state assemblies. But, it will require some constitutional amendment bills which will have to be passed by the Parliament.

For the two different phases of the ONOE, two constitutional amendment bills will have to be passed. A total of 15 amendments will be made under these, including the insertion of new provisions and amendments to others.

First Constitutional Amendment Bill
As recommended by the Kovind panel, the first bill will insert a new Article – 82A – in the Constitution. Article 82A will establish the process through which the country will move towards simultaneous elections.

Second Constitutional Amendment Bill
The second bill will introduce Article 324A in the Constitution. It will empower the central government to make laws to ensure parallel elections to municipalities and panchayats along with Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

Will approval from the state assemblies also be required?
After passing the two Constitution Amendment Bills, Parliament will follow the amendment procedures under Article 368. Since only Parliament has the power to make election laws pertaining to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas, the first amendment bill will not need support from the states. However, matters related to elections in local bodies are under the state and for this the second amendment bill will have to be ratified by at least half of the states in the country.

Presidential assent and implementation
After the second Constitution Amendment Bill is approved by the states, and passed by a prescribed majority in both houses, the Bills will go for the President’s assent. Once she signs the Bills, they will become law. After this, the implementation group will carry out these changes based on the provisions of these Acts.

Some of the proposed changes regarding a single voter list and voter ID cards will need approval from at least half the states. A new sub-section in Article 325 of the Constitution will suggest that there should be a single voter list for all polling in a constituency.