A day after the government announced a special session of Parliament to be convened from September 18 to 22, a committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind was formed to explore the idea of ’ one country, one election’. One The bill proposes this concept could be introduced during a special congressional session, sources said on Thursday.
The bill proposed the idea of holding simultaneous elections, which was the practice until 1967. However, after the dissolution of several Legislative Assemblies in 1968 and 1969 and of the Lok Sabha in December 1970, elections were held separately.
Although the possibility of returning to simultaneous elections was initially raised in the Election Commission’s annual report in 1983, the concept of ‘one country, one election’ was later explored. broken down in three reports. Watch:
Law Commission Report (1999)
The Law Commission, headed by Justice BP Jeevan Reddy, in its 170th Report in May 1999, declared: “The annual and off-season election cycle should come to an end. We must go back to when elections to the Lok Sabha and all the Legislative Assemblies were held at the same time. The rule should be: every 5 years there is an election for the Lok Sabha and all the Legislative Assembly.”
Report of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly (2015)
The Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice has submitted its report on ‘Feasibility of holding simultaneous elections in the House of Representatives (Lok Sabha) and the Legislative Assembly. State Law’ on December 17, 2015.
Dr EM Sudarsana Natchiappan was the chairman of this committee at that time. The Commission noted that holding simultaneous elections would reduce:
- large costs incurred for conducting separate elections
- policy paralysis caused by the application of the Model Code of Conduct in elections
- impact on the delivery of essential services
- burden of significant manpower deployed during the election period.
Draft report of the Law Commission (2018)
The Law Commission of India released its draft report on simultaneous elections on August 30, 2018. In the report, the legal and constitutional issues related to simultaneous elections were examined. review. Justice BS Chauhan is the chairman of the Law Commission.
The draft report said, “Simultaneous elections cannot be held within the framework of the present Constitution. They can be conducted in Lok Sabha and state Legislative Assemblies through appropriate amendments.” in accordance with the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and the Rules of Proceedings of the Lok Sabha and the State Council.”
The committee also recommended that at least 50% of the states should ratify the constitutional amendments.
However, the Commission noted that holding simultaneous elections would save public money, reduce the burden on security forces and administrative structures, and ensure timely implementation of the country’s policies. government and ensure that the bureaucracy is engaged in development activities rather than electoral campaigning.
Published on:
September 1, 2023
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